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MEPOMT ■ 



OF THE 

COMMITTEE 

OF THE 

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OF 

MASSACHUSETTS, 

ON THE SUBJECT OF 

IMFMESSIEO SEAMEM: 

WITH THE 

EVIDENCE AND DOCUMENTS 

ACCOMPANYING IT. 



PUBLISHED BY ORDER OF THE 

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, 



BOSTON. 

RUSSELL AND CUTLER.., .PRINTERS: 
1813, 



:ii J 



► , 



C 351 
2 



r 



Commonwealth of Massachusetts, 



In Ihe House of Represtntaiives, Feh. 6, 1813. 

WHEREAS the President in his Message to Congress, 
has made known to the people of the United Slates, that the 
British Orders in Council have been repealed " in such a man- 
ner as to be capable of explanations meeting tho* views of 
^he government" of the United Slates, and therefore none of 
the alleged causes of war with Great Britain now remain, ex- 
cept the claim of the right to take British subjects from the 
merchant ships of the United Slates i 

j4nd -whertnsy during the administrations of President 
Washington and President Adams, this claim of Great Britaiij 
was not considered as a reasonable cause of war ; and under 
the administration of President Jefferson, the government of 
Great Britain did offer to make an arrangement vvilh the Uni- 
ted Slates which in the opinion of Messrs. jMonroe and Pink- 
ney, their Ministers, placed this subject on a ground that was 
*' both lionorable and advantageous to the United States, and 
highly favorable to their interests," and was at the same lime 
*' a concession which had never been before made ;" and it is 
highly probable that the government of Great Britain would 
still be willing to make an arrangement on this sul)ject whicii 
sliould be alike honorable and advantageous to the U. Slates : 

Ami zcfiereiis^ under the administration of President 
MADISOM, when the arrangement of the matters in contro- 
versy between the United States and Great Britain was made 
with His Britannic Majesty's Minister, David Montague 
Erskine, Esq the impressment of seamen was not considered 
of sufficient importance to be made a condition of that arrange- 
ment : 

^ndwhereas^ all the European Powers as well as the I^. 
States, recognize the principle tliat Iheir subjects and citizens 
have no right to expatriate themselves, and that tlic nation has 
aright to the services of all its citizens, especially in time of 
zsar^ and none of those Powers respect tlie iNaturalization Laws 
of the others so far as to admit their operation in contraven- 
tion of that principle ; and it is manifestly nnjust for a iietiira! 
power to make war upon one nation in order io compel it to 
relinquish a principle whicli is maintained by the others : 



4 

And whereas, it is the duty of tlic government of the Uni- 
ted States to protect and encourage Aiyierkan Seamen, and to 
exclude from our ships the numerous foreign seamen who are 
depriving our own citizens of their natural means of subsis- 
tence : 

And Tohereas, a great proportion of the seamen of the U. 
States belong to this Commonwealth, and this Legislature is 
desirous to ascertain how many of them have been iraprf ssed 
ot taken by Great Britain, France or. any other power, in or- 
der that satisfactory information may be had and communica- 
ted to the government of the United States. 

Ordered^ that Mr. Pickering of Salem, Mr. Tillinghast, 
of Taunton, Mr Watson, of Belfast, be a Committee to con- 
sider and report, what measures are proper to be taken in or- 
der to ascertain the number of the SEAMEN of this Common- 
"wealth impressed or taken by any foreign nation. 

(J:fMr Dean, of Uedham, and Mr. Breed, of Lynn, were 
afterwards added to this Committee, before they entered upon 
thedutiesof their commission ; and at a subsequent day of 
the session, a part of His Excellency's message was also refer- 
red to the Committee, who on the S(5th February, made the 
following Report : — 



THE Committee to wliom was referred so much of 
his Excelleucy's Message as relates to tlie subject of 
protecting in the merchant ships of the United States 
the Seamen of Great Eritain, against the chiims of 
that government, and who were also directed to report 
what measures are proper to be taken in order to as- 
certain ihe number of Seamen of this Commonwealth 
impressed or detained by any foreign nation, begleav^ 
to submit the following 

REPORT : 

Your Committee iind, from the Message of the Pres- 
cient of the United States to Congress, that the prin- 
cipal alleged causes of hostility against (rreat Brit- 
ain have been removed ])y the repeal of the British 
Orders in Council, and that the remaining cause of 
war against that nation, is her claim of the right to im- 
press her own subjects from merchant ships. 

Your Committee, while they have seen with the 
highest satisfaction that every other cause of hostilities 
is thus removed, have perceived with the deepest con- 
cern, that the blood and treasure of the country are 
still to be expended in the prosecution of a war, the 
object of which is to compel Great Britain to relin- 
quish a principle which never till the present time, 
seems to have been considered by the government of 
the United States as a necessary cause of war. 

The United States, it is said, *' engaged in the war 
for the sole purpose of vindicating their rights and hon- 
or.^^ It therefore becomes a deeply interesting ea- 
quiry for the people of ihe United States to make, 
whether their rights have been invaded, and their hon- 
or insulted, in such a manner as to demand a vindica- 
tion by this last resort of a sovereign state. If it should 
be found that this is not the case, but that the princi- 
ple which is now made the cause of the war against 
Great Britain, has been recognized and practised upon 
by France and other powers, without being consi(ler- 
ed on our part as a cause of war, the just and enlight- 
ened people of Massachusetts, aa well as yf the other 



6 

parts of the Uuiou, Avill not, it is believed, think it ne- 
cessary that the war should be continued for that ob- 
ject ; they will not think it just for a neutral power 
to make war for the sake of requiring of one nation, 
what they have not exacted of others, and what others 
have never exacted of them. 

The government of the United States, however, to 
whose reasonable discretion is committed the powep 
of declaring war, has thought it proper to announce, 
that the present war is still to be prosecuted for the 
purpose of compelling the relinquishment of this claim 
of Great Britain. Ii, is then more than ever necessary 
that the people of this Commonwealth, a portion of the 
Union destined to bear a large share of the burthena 
and calamities of the war, should carefully enquire in- 
to, and correctly understand the nature of this claim, 
and the real magnitude of the injury for which hostil- 
ities are to be continued, in order that they may be en- 
abled to devise the best means which may be in their 
power, as a member of the Union, of contributing to 
cftect the restoration of peace. Your Committee, there- 
fore, have thonghi it to be their duty, deliberately and 
dispassionately to make this enquiry ; and in doing it, 
they have felt all that responsibility which must result 
from a ju!-jt regard to the welfare of our common coun- 
try, and the essential interests of the citizens of this 
Commonwealth. With this view they have found it 
necessary to present a detailed statement on the sub- 
jects committed to them ; a statement which in their 
opinion will satisfy this House of the necessity of a 
farther Jind more minute enquiry, than it has been pos- 
sii)le to make during the present session of the Legis- 
lature. 

In ])rosecuting this enquiry, your Committee in the 
first place thought it proper to obtain facts suiTicient to 
enable them to form some estimate of the niimher of 
Impressed seamen of this Commo-iwealth. For this 
pui'[)ose they had recourse to a arious official reports 
made to Congress by Mr. Madison, while Secretary 
of State, and by liis successor, Mr. Munroe ; and they 
hoped to have found in those Documents, published 



under the authority of the government^ satisfactory in- 
formation on this point. But in this expectation they 
have been entirely disappointed; they have found those 
reports so uncertain and erroneous, that tliey could 
place little reliance upon them. In proof of this, your 
Committee beg leave to offer a few remarks ; and such 
as they shall make will chiefly arise from their exam- 
ination of the last of those reports, dated Jan. 15, 1812. 

This Report contains a list of 1557 applications of 
men represented as impressed ; which, with the ap- 
plications before communicated to Congress, amc.unt 
to the now well-known number of 6057 (or, as it is 
sometimes called, 6^57) cases of British impressments. 

The first general remark your committee have to 
make on these extraordinary documents, is this, that 
of the 6057 cases, many hundreds appear to be dupli- 
cate applications ; and in many instances the same 
name is reckoned three and four times, and in some, 
five times. And these repetitions occur not only in 
the names of real persons, l)ut also in the naines of 
persons, Avho, by the evidence of native inhabitants 
of the towns to which they are alleged to belong, were 
never known or heard of. 

Of the remaining cases, vast numbers are all- 
together destitute of the particulars of the places of 
birth or residence, &c. of the seamen, which are so es- 
sential to determine the fact whether the applicants 
were Americans^ or not. Of the 1557cases contained 
in the Report last mentioned, about 1216 have no de- 
signation of the towns and states to which the seamen 
belonged, the time and place of impressment k,c. and 
only the 341 remaining cases are accompanied with 
these particulars. It should be observed, further, that 
this List is entitled by the Secretary of State "' Si List 
of American Seamen and Citizens who have been im- 
pressed and Jield in bondage in his Britannic Majesty's 
ships of war." &c. This very title is calculated to mis- 
lead; it purports to be a list of persons impressed and 
held on board British ships ; yet in many of the cases 
it appears that the men voluntarili/ entered into the 
British service and received bounty and pay. The 
list is also given as a list of Americans ; yet in a vast 



number of cases the, ineii acknowledged themselves 
to bo Englishmen^ Irishmen, or other subjects of 
Great Briiaiii. Farther ; many of the men, it appears, 
had eniered into French ])rivateers, and were taken in 
the service of the ciieniies of Great Britain. Some, 
though taken from ^itner-ican merchant ships, were the 
subjects of Denmark or other nations at war with Great 
Britain. Some acknowledged tlie names in their pro- 
tections were not tlieir true names ; others had protec- 
tions that did not correspond with their persons. Some 
had protections that were forged or altered. Many of 
the seamen were taken from English merchant ships, 
and no suggestion is made tliat they had not entered 
voluntarily. 

Your committee will make but one other remark on 
these Documents — Fhe Secretary of State, in his re- 
port last mentioned, observes, that " there is reason 
to believe that no precise or accurate view is now or 
ever can be exhibited of the names, or the number of 
our seamen, who are impressed into, and detained in 
the British service,*' and that "it is equally impossi- 
ble from the want of precise returns to make an accu- 
rate report of the names or number of citizens of the 
United States, who have been compelled to enter into 
the FiiEXCH service, or are held in captivity under the 
auihorjty of that government, whether taken from ves- 
sels captured on the high seas, or seized in rivers, 
ports or harbors ; the names of a few only, greatly be- 
low the nunil;er believed to be so detained, being with- 
in the knowledge of this department. A detail is 
therefore not attempted with respect to this part of the 
call of the House of Kepresentatives." 

Why the Seer tary of S'.a'e thought it proper to 
gi\ e a ''^ detail" of British impressments, and to with- 
hold a "detail*' o( French impressments or detentions, 
under such circums'aiiees, it is not the part of your 
Committee to determine. 

From this examination it was apparent, that these 
oflBcial documents were so uncertain and unsatisfactory, 
that little reliance could be placed on them. It be- 
«ame necessary, therefore, to resort to other evidence ; 



and none appeared to your Committee, to promise so 
sai'siaetory a result as tiie testimoii\ of eminent merch- 
ants and experienced ship-masters of some of the prin- 
cipal sea-poris of this Sta'e ; men, who from their pro- 
fessional, as well as locariihowledge, must be acquain- 
ted with the cases of impressments from their own 
vessels, and their own towns. Your Committee ac- 
cordingly, under the order of the House, authorising 
theui to hciid fur persons and papers, summoned a 
great number of merchants and ship-masters, without 
distinction of party, from Boston. Salem, Marhlehead 
Portland and other seaports, which, all together owned 
a vast proportion of the whole shipping of this Common- 
wealth. They also examined some of the Custom House 
ohiceis;and also made enquiries of experienced officers 
of die jS avy. The united testimony of these witnesses, 
(which will be formed in the depositions hereto an- 
nexed, numbered fiom 1 to 51, and which your Com- 
mittee request, may be considered as a part of their 
repoil) forms a body of evidence, from which highly 
important, and interesting results have been obtained, 
some of which your Committee beg leave here to of- 
fer to the consideration of this House. 

It appears from the depositions of the merchants 
who were examined, and who have been engaged in 
commerce and navigation for ten, fifteen, and twenty 
years past, that the whole number of seamen they have 
together employed upon an average for the last twelve 
or fifteen years (deducting the period of the embargo) 
amounts to about 1560, annually — which for fifteen 
years would make an aggregate of 23,400, and for 
twelve years wonld make an aggregate of 18,7S0, sea- 
men, constantly employed during those periods respect- 
ively ; the average of these two aggregates will be 
21,060. In this vast number of seamen thus constantly 
employed by these witnesses, your Committee have 
found the following cases of impressments by the 
British, viz. — 

American seamen . ~ - 12 
Foreign seamen ... 23 

Total 35 



10 

of which there have been discharged, as follows, viz. 
Foreigners discharged - _ 6 

Americans discharged - - 9 

do. escaped - - 1 10 

leaving, of the 12 Americans impressed as above, but 
one who has not returned.* Such was the result of 
the evidence of the witnesses in respect to impress- 
ments from among the seamen in their employment. 

The whole number of impressments, (excepting the 
men hereafter mentioned taken in British ships of war,) 
that were testified to before your committee, inchiding 
not only cases within the personal knowledge of the wit- 
nesses ; but also cases that they had heard of from the 
friends of the impressed seamen, in such a manner as 
entitled them to credit, amounted, with the foregoing, to 
ene hundred and forty seven. 147 

Add cases of supposed impressments, 10 



Total 


157 


By the British, 145 




By the French, - 11 




By the Portuguese - 1 - - 


157 


Of the whole number, there were Americans 107 




Louisianian 1 




Foreigners 47 




Unknown 2 


157 


Of the Americans there were 




Discharged on application, 51 




Escaped, - - 9 




Entered, . - - 4 




Died, ... 3 




Detained, - - 8 




Supposed to be detained, 20 




No account given, - 12 





107 
To the above add the cases of the men who were taken 
in the British frigate Guerriere, (in all 18,) and who in- 

* This is a seaman who was impressed from the ship Hugh 
Johnson, Caot. Eames, in 1809, at Palermo. The owner (Mr. 
Caleb Loring, of Boston) could not recollect the man's name. 



ii 

formed capt. Hull that they had been impressed, the sum 
total will then be 175.* 

It appeared further in evidence that some of the mas- 
ters of ships had been to sea for many years without 
having a single man impressed ; and in general, the 
masters could recollect but two or three instances from 
their own vessels, in the course of their whole sea- faring 
life. 

Your committee also found, that in the practice of im- 
pressments, in some cases, abuses had taken place, both 
with the British and French ; instances of which appear 
by the documents annexed. — The instances of impress- 
ments by the French, however, appear to have been 
few in number, comparatively with those by the British. 

It appeared also, that great frauds had been practised, 
with regard to Seamen's Protections, and which could 
not easily be guarded against by the officers of the gov- 
ernment. Many of these Protections, it appears, have 
h^tn forged, and hundreds of forged ones, it was testi- 
fied, had been destroyed by the Custom House officers. 
Specimens of these forgeries were exhibited to your com- 
mittee, and are herewith submitted, f See Depositions, 
No, 13 and3\J 

It appeared also, that genuine American Protections 
were bought and sold in many cases, for two dollars a 
piece ; and that, by means of the keepers of boarding 
houses in the seaports, who were in the practice of col- 
lecting them, these genuine Protections were put into 
the hands o^ foreigners, whose persons agreed with the 
description in the protection, and the foreigner then as- 
sumed the name of the Americaji who was named in the 
paper ; and it sometimes happened, that illiterate foreign- 
ers, who had procured such protections, forgot the name 
they were to take. 

Such are some of the facts which have appeared be- 
fore your committee in respect to the practice of im- 
pressments. 

Your Committee directed their attention, in the next 
place, to ihe principle on which Great Britain founds 

* See Capt. Hull's deposition No. 42, and Jiid^e Davis' lettor 
t» th« committee, No. 43, respecting this class of eases. 



IS 

her claim of impressing her seamen from merchant ships. 
This inquiry appeared to involve principally the follow- 
ing considerations : — Whether France, and other Euro- 
pean nations recognize and practice upon the same prin- 
ciple ; and whether the government of the United States 
has ever made it a cause of war against France or any 
other nation ; — what measures have been adopted by the 
United States under the former and present administra- 
tions, in respect to impressments ; — what offers have 
been made on the part of Great Britain to secure to the 
United States the practical advantages which they have 
demanded, without a /orwa/ relinquishment of the prin- 
ciple contended for ; — and whether the magnitude of the 
injury had been constantly increasing until the time of 
the declaration of war, to such an alarming degree, that 
" forbearance could no longer be justified." 

First, then, does France, as well as other nations, re- 
cognize the same principle which is contended for by 
Great Britain ? 

It is a principle acknowledged in all governments that 
allegiance and protection are reciprocal ; and that every 
government has a right to the services of its citizens ; 
and especially that no citizen has a right to leave his 
country in time of war ^ without the consent of his own 
o-overnment. This principle has ever been recognized 
in the laws of this Commonwealth ; and during our rev- 
olutionary war (the only occasion till now, when the 
United States have been under the necessity of enfor- 
cing' this rule) was rigourously adhered to in practice ; 
and vour committee accordingly find, in the year 1779, 
a solemn legislative declaration of Massachusetts, that 
" every government has a right to command the person- 
al services of all its members, whenever the exigences 
of the state shall require it, especially in times of an im- 
pending or actual invasion ; no member thereof can then 
withdraw himself from the jurisdiction of the govern- 
ment, and thereby deprive it of the benefit of his per- 
sonal services, without incurring justly the forfeiture of all 
his property, rights and liberties, liolden under and derived 
from that constitution of government to the support of 
which he hath refused to aftbrd his aid and assistance." 



13 

Nor does this principle appear to be inconsistent with 
the practice of naturalizing foreigners, when the legal 
eifects of naturalization are properly considered. When 
a state naturalizes a foreigner, it binds itself to protect 
him so long as he remains within its jurisdiction. If he 
does not choose to remain within the jurisdiction of his 
adopted country, but will place himself within the power 
of the government of iiis wa^it;^ country, by going within its 
exclusive jurisdiction, or within a jurisdiction which is 
common to his native and adopted country as in mer- 
chants ships on the ocean, the government of his adopt- 
ed country will not consider itself bound to follow and 
protect him. 

Your committee find, that France for a century and a 
half has maintained the right to seize her own seamen, 
in time of war, in her own ports, on board of neutral 
vessels, and at sea. In proof of this, your committee 
beg leave to refer to the French laws and ordinances on 
this subject, of which some extracts are subjoined. [See 
Documents^ No. 52.) 

Your committee will here ask the attention of this 
House to only one of these edicts ; that of the 8th Ven- 
tose, 6th year of the French Republic (A. D. 1799.) 
This edict declares — "that all English Sailors on board 
neutral jiags in the ports of France should h^ arrested ; 
and every man who spoke the English language^ should 
be considered English, unless he could prove by authen- 
tic evidence and documents that he was an American^'''* 

The ])ractice of France appears to have been conform- 
able to the principle of these laws, as will be seen by a 
reference to the cases of impressments contained in the 
documents annexed. [See depositions., Nos. 1, 14, 15, 
and\^.) 

It being undeniable then, that France has long main- 
tained the principle in question, the next inquiry of your 
committee was, ^vhether this claim of France had ever 
been considered by the government of the United States 
as a necessary cause of war. They do not find that it has 
been so considered. Thev find that in the year 1800, 
the United States concluded a treaty with France, on 
tlie various subjects In controversy, but they do not finii 
3 



in that negociation, any demand that France should re- 
nounce the principle, nor does the treaty itself contain any 
such renunciation. 

This being the case, then, it is for the wisdom of the 
people of the United States to judge, how far it is just or 
necessary, that a neutral power should prosecute a war 
against one of the belligerent nations, to compel the re- 
nunciation of a principle which it suffers the others to 
exercise. 

The next inquiry of your committee was, what meas- 
ures had been adopted by the governmet of the United 
States under the former and the present administrations, 
in respect to the impressment of Seamen, and what has 
been the result of those measures ? 

During the whole prosperous administration of that 
illustrious man, whose real patriotism justly entitled him 
to the appellation of the father of his country, the prac- 
tice of impressments was exercised by Great Britain to a 
greater extent, and in a more vexatious manner, than it 
has been for years past ; yet Washington, whose nice 
sense of national honor, has not been surpassed by that 
of any of his successors, and whose real regard for the 
rights of his countrymen was always evinced by his acts, 
never believed that the "rights and honors" of the Unit- 
ed States, required to be vindicated by a war against 
either of the two nations, to compel a relinquishment of 
the claim in question. And never did his affectionate 
countrymen of the great commercial and navigating 
States charge him with an abandonment of their rights, 
because he did not resort to war, in order to compel the 
formal renunciation of a principle^ while the country could 
enjoy the benefit of a practical regard to the true inter- 
ests of the sea-faring citizens. 

In the year 1794, under his administration the United 
States concluded a treaty with Great Britain ; but so far 
were they from then demanding a relinquishment of the 
claim, that although the evils of impressments were 
sensibly felt by the United States, no provision was made 
in that treaty on the subject. 

In the year 1796, the goveriinicnt of the United States 
thought it expedient to make the law under which pro- 
tactions, as they are usually called, were granted to 



15 

American seamfcn ; but this, in the end afforded only a 
partial remedy for the mischief. The government of 
the United States, however, having a conviction of the 
intrinsic difficulties of the subject, and placing confidence 
in the assurances of Great Britain, in the like manner as 
they required her to place confidence in theirs of a sincere 
desire to remedy the evil, still avoided the alternative of 
war. With mutual explanations and mutual forbearance 
our country still advanced in its prosperous career. 

The practice of impressments still continued to be a 
subject of complaint and negociation, and no arrange- 
ment was effected until the year 1806. This important 
measure demands a distinct consideration. 

Your committee find, that in that year Messrs. Mon- 
roe and Pinkney, who had been appointed by President 
Jefferson, ministers to the court of Great Britain, com- 
menced their negociation on the subject of impressments, 
as well as the other subjects in controversy between the 
two countries. It was proposed by the British commis- 
sioners, that the treaty of 1794, should be made the basis 
of the negociation ; but this proposal was not acceded to 
by our ministers. fSee J\'o. 53. J 

It appears that in the conferences, the British commis- 
sioners manifested the strongest repugnance to R/ormol 
renunciation of their claim ; but proposed as a substitute, 
that our seamen should be furnished with documents, the 
nature and form of which slioiild be settled by treaty, and 
that these dociuTients should completely protect the sea- 
men ; but that subject to such protections, Great Britain 
should have the right to impress her own seamen. fSee 
.Vo. 53 J 

It also appears by the correspondence of our ministers, 
that the "temper which the British commissioners brought 
into the negociation corresponding with that which had 
been manifested towards our ministers by all who were 
in official stations, as well as by the public in general, 
was as friendly and respectful to our government and 
country, as could be desired." fSee jXo 54-. J 

The result of this negociation was an adjustment of all 
the differences between the two countries. The impor- 
tant subject of impressments, in particular, was definitely 
arranged by a n©te signed by the British mini stcrs, whie'h 



16 

is $ubjoined to this report — (See No. 55»J 

By this paper, as it was distinctly understood and ex- 
plained by the parties, Messrs. Monroe and Pinkney ex- 
press their conviction that the subject of impressments 
is placed almost, if not altogether, on as good a footing 
as they should have done, had the project which they 
themselves had offered to the British government, been 
adopted. (See No. 56 J 

And they were further of opinion, that the ground on 
which the subject was thus placed, was both "honorable 
and advantageous to the United States," and that it con- 
tained a concession never before made by Great Britain, 
which was highly favorable to our interests. (See No. 

Such appears to have been the disposition of Great 
Britain, and such vi^as the arrangement made on this dif- 
ficult and important subject. This adjustment, how- 
ever advantageous as it seems to have been in the opin- 
ion of our ministers, your committee find, was rejected 
by our government. Why it was thus rejected, it is not 
the part of your committee to intimate ; the enlightened 
people of this Commonwealth, happily, are able to judge, 
and will judge for themselves. 

From this time, the practice cf impressment was 
not wholly abandoned by Great Britain ; hut from 
the year 1807? it appears to have been gradually 
lessening. So inconsiderable a grievance, indeed, 
did it appear to be in the year 1809? that when a set- 
tlement of our differences with Great Britain was 
made with the British minister, Mr. Erskine^, the im- 
pressment of our seamen was not made a condition of 
the arrangement ; but (the affair of the Chesapeake 
frigate being adjusted) upon the repeal of the Orders 
in Council only, the intercourse between tlie two 
countries was renewed. 

This arrangement, it is well known was not carri- 
ed into effect, and the intercourse with Great Britain 
was again terminated. Still however, the Govern- 
ment of the United States did not appear to consider 
he subject of impressments as an obstacle to a renew- 
al of the intercourse, much less as a necessary cause 



17 

of war. For in the month of July, 1811, (ahout elev- 
en months before the war) the Secretary of State in- 
formed the British minister (Mr. Foster) that should 
the revocation of the blockade of May, 1806, be fol- 
lowed by a revocation of the Orders in Council, he 
was authorised to say that it would produce an imme- 
diate renewal of the intercourse between the two 
countries — and the subject of impressments is not 
brought into view as a condition of such renewal. — 
(See No. 58.) 

From that period to the declaration of war, on the 
17th June, 1812, your committee feel warranted in 
saying, that impressments had not frequently occur- 
red — the British Government had continued to give 
the strictest orders to their commanders, not to mo- 
lest American seamen : and the British minister, Mr. 
Foster, had requested our Government to furnish him 
with the names of the impressed Americans, that 
measures might be taken for their immediate dis- 
charge. And at the period of the declaration of war, 
so far was it from being the case, " that forbearance 
could no longer be justified,*' that only a fortnight be- 
fore the war, the British minister had again informed 
the Secretary of State, that the government of Great 
Britain would continue tt> give the most positive or- 
ders against the detentions of American citizens. — 
(See Mr. Foster's letter of June 1, 1812, to Mr. Mon- 
roe — No. 59.) 

Under such extraordinary circumstances has the 
present occasion been seized upon to involve the U- 
nited States in war. But though our natural ^^re- 
sources are abundant, though our people are brave 
and virtuous, and their spirit unbroken," yet unless 
they know it to be a w ar in which they can confident- 
ly " rely upon the aid of Heaven*' they will not think 
it necessary to embark their lives and fortunes in the 
prosecution of it. 

Your committee, therefore, upon the whole view of 
the subject, in discharge of tiieir commission beg leave 
to submit the following Resolve. 



18 
COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS. 

In the House of RepresentativeSf Feb. 24, 1818,, 
RESOLVED, that the Selectmen and Assessors 
©1 the several towns, districts and plantations in thii 
Commonwealth be and they hereby are required, 
forthwith to ascertain the number of seamen of their 
respective towns, districts and plantations, who hav© 
been or are now impressed, or detained by Great 
Britain, France or any foreign power, and forthwith 
to make returns thereof to the Secretary of this Com- 
monwealth in order that the same may be laid before 
the General Court at their next session to be holden 
on the last Wednesday of May next, And the f^aid 
Returns shall contain the names of all such Seamen, 
and shall state whether they are native or naturalized 
citizens of the United States, or foreign subjects ; 
and in tlie cases of native citizens shall designate the 
town, c€>unty and state in which they were born ; and 
in the cases of naturalized citizens, shall designate 
the Court or County, in which, and the time when, 
they were naturalized, and of what foreign power 
they were then the subjects ; and in the cases of for- 
eign subjects shall designate the foreign power whose 
subjects they are. And in all the cases aforesaid, 
the said returns shall so far as the same may be 
ascertained, state the time when and the vessels 
and their masters, from which such seamen were 
impressed or taken, and the ports to which such 
vessels belonged ; and also the vessels and their 
commanders, by wiiich they Avere impressed or tak- 
en, and also the names of the foreign power to which 
such vessels belonged. And the said returns shall 
also state whether such seamen had protections with 
them, when impressed or taken, and whether any, and 
what application has been made for their discharge, 
and the result of such application, and also in case of 
the death of any seaman, shall state whether he died 
in the service of the nation that impressed or detain- 
ed him. And in those towns, districts and planta- 
tions from which no seamen have been impressed or 
taken, the selectmen and assessors shall in 1 ike man 
ner make return of that fact. 



19 

And the Secretary of the Commonwealth shall 
forthwith transmit copies of this Resolve, together 
with blank forms of Returns prepared in conformity 
thereto, to the selectmen and assessors aforesaid, who 
are hereby directed to^ publish this Resolve in the 
several newspapers printed in their respective town's 
districts and plantations. 



EVIDENCE 

Before the Committee on Impressmenls, 

THE DEPOSITIONS OF 

1 Capt. Isaac Clark, of Brewster, 

2 Capt. John Eldrklge, of Yarmouth, 

3 Eben Parsons, Esq. of Boston, Merchant, 

4 Win. Parsons, Esq. of Boston, do. 

5 Caleb Loring, Esq. of do. do. 

6 Capt. John Holland, of do. do. 

7 Moses To wnsend, Esq. of Salem, do. 

8 Mr Wm. W.Oliver, Deputy Collector of Salem, 

9 Joseph Pegibody, Esq. of Salem, Merchant, 

10 Nathan Felton, E>;q. of Danvers, 

11 Samuel Page, Esq. of Danvers, 

12 Capt. Joseph Mudge, of Lynn, 

13 Capt Zachariah Atwell, of Lynn, 

14 Capt. Andrew Harraden, of Salem, 

15 Capt. Josiaii Orne, of do. 

16 !VIr. Nathaniel Hooper, of Marblehead, Merchant, 

17 Mr. Benjamin T. Heed, of do. do. 

18 Hod. WUliam Gray, Esq. of Boston, do. 

19 Cipt, Ozias Goodwin, of do. 

90 Theodore Lyman, Esq. do. do. 

21 James Perkins, Esq. do. do, 

22 Thomas H. Perkias, Esq. do. do. 

23 Aaron Breed, Esq. of Lynn, [one of the Committee,] 

24 Hon. Nahu.n Mitchell, Esq. Bridgewater, 

25 Col. John Thomas, of Kingston, 

26 Wi.i. Orne, Esq. Salem, Merchant, 

27 *'apt. John Tucker, of Gloucester, 

28 Joseph Moody, Esq Kennebunk, Merchant, 

29 Hon. Wm. Davis, Esq. Plymouth, 

Sp Hon. Israel Thprnd ike, Boston^ Merclvant, 



20 

31 Josiah Waters, Esq. Boston, 

32 Mr. Edward Lander, Salem, Merchantj 

33 Capt. Wm. Story, Marblehead, 

34 Capt. Wra. Crabtree, Portland, 

35 Otis Little, Esq. Castine, Merchant, 

36 Mr. Wm. Parker, Boston, Mariner, 

37 Commodore Bainbridge, 

38 AsaT. JNewhall, Esq. Lynn, 

39 Thomas H. Tobey, Esq. Sandwich, 

40 Mr. Charles Durant, RoxDnry, 

41 Capt. Wm. Stnrgis, Boston, 

42 Isaac Hull, Esq. otthe Navy, 

43 Certificate from Hon. John Davis, Esq. District Judge^ 

44 Mr. Lawson Carrol, of Boston, 

45 Mr. C. W. Williams, of Wells, 

46 Capt. Lemuel Walker, Litchfield 

47 Enoch Preble, Esq. Portland, Merchant, 

48 Hon. Matthew Bridge, Esq. Charlestown, Merchant) 

49 John Hewes, Mariner, 

50 Letter from Commodore Bainbridge, 

51 Barnabus Hedge, Jr. Esq. Plymouth, Merchant. 



The following Witnesses were also summoned, hut did 

7Wt testify : — 

William Raymond Lee, Esq. Collector of Salem, absent by 
indisposition. 

Joseph Wilson, Esq. Collector of Marblehead, did not 
attend. 

Henry A. S. Dearborn, Esq. Collector of Boston, absent at 
Albany. 

Hon. Wm. Bartlett, Esq. Newburyport, did not attend. 

Moses Brown, Esq. do. absent by indisposition. 

Hon. Benjamin W Crowninshield, Esq, Salem, appeared 
before the Committee, but declined testifying. 

Commodore Rodgers appeared, and informed the Commit- 
tee that he would make a comnuinication to them in writing, 
"which they have not yet received. 

Februarj/ 25, 1813. 



DOCUMENTS 

REFERRED TO IN THE FOREGOING 
REPORT. 

•[No. 1.] 

TJie Deposition of Isaac Clarke. 

I reside in the town of Brewster, in the county of Barn- 
stable I have been a master of a vessel about twelve years. I 
have employed on board the vessels under my command, from 
ten to twenty-eight men ; upon an average, about ten to each 
vessel. During that time, to wit, about the year 1795, 1 had one 
man impressed from the Byefield, of Boston, oft" the coast of Sa- 
vanah in Georgia ; his name was Owen Jones, a Welchman ; he 
was however released, and returned about two or three months 
after his impressment. He had informed me that he was a 
Welchman; he had a protection, as an American citizen. In 
the year 1798, or 1799, 1 had two men taken from the Financier 
of Boston ; there names were Eben. Gorham and Mans- 
field. They were Americans ; Gorham was anative of Barnstable ; 
I do not know the native place of Mansfield. They had no pro- 
tections ; they were impressed oil* the Naze of Norway. Gorham 
was released about three or four months afterwards ; he return- 
ed to America soon after I did on that voyage. Mansfield enter- 
ed on board the British ship, (this 1 had from the information of 
Gorham) and I have not heard of him since They Mere impres- 
sed by a British frigate ; I do not recollect her name or that of 
her commander ; nor do I remember the name of the sloop of 
war that impressed the first man abovenained, viz. — Owen Jones, 
nor the name of her commander ; she was a sloop of war, of 
twenty four guns. During (he time that I m as master of a ves- 
sel, I made nine voyages to Russia, two to Spain, and one to Por- 
tugal, and one from Copenhagen to Dunkirk ; and four or five 
to the West-Indies. Almost every one of these voyages I was 
hoarded by British cruizers, and sometimes by French cruizers. 
I never had any men taken from my vessels at any other time 
than abovementloned, except once while I was at Liverpool, in 
England, when two of my crew that were on shore, were taken 
up by the press-gang, they hadleft their protections on board ; 
and upon application by myself to the Regulating Captain, they 
were returned to me the next day. The name of one was Theo- 
dore Berry, of Brewster, and the other was a man sf colour, v. ho 
nailed himself a Virginian. 
4 



as 

I am ©lie of the Selectmen of Brewster ; I know of one per- 
ion now under impressment by the British, belonging to that town, 
by the name of Prince Freeman ; this is the only case in that 
town, he was impressed when on shore, in Ireland, and had no 
protection, last spring a protection was made out, and an appli- 
cation forwarded by his father, as I have understood, to bur agent, 
in London I do not know whether he has been discharged or 
not 

Two men belonging to Brewster, have been takfen by French 
vessels at sea, and detained in France. Their names are Rueben 

Harden and Mayhew ; Mayhew was taken about three 

years ago, and, as his father informs me, is detained in prison in 
the interior of France. We have never heard of Harden since 
he was taken, which is about two years ago. Harden and May- 
hew are both natives of Brewster. A protection for Mayhew 
was obtained, and forwarded about twelve months ago last Sep- 
tember, to our agent in France. In the ship Financier above- 
mentioned I had seven or eight men, besides Gorham and Mans- 
field without any protections ; they were all Americans, except 
one, who was a Dane, and further say not. 

ISAAC CLARK. 
Suffolk, ss. Feb. i5th, 1813. 
Sworn to before 

Alex. Townsend, J. Peace. 



[No. 2.] 
The Deposition of John Eldridge. 

I reside in Yarmouth in the county of Barnstable. I have 
been a master of a vessel about seventeen years, within the last 
twenty four years ; and have had on board my vessels from sev- 
en to sixteenmen ; on an average about eight or nine. About tlie 
year 1803, while I was lying at Trinidad, in the sloop Stork, 
one of my men, while on shore, had (juitted his boat and was ta- 
ken up by the piess-gang His name was William Boynton, and 
he was, as he told me, an American. The next day I was in- 
formed by the officer of the press-gang, that the man was taken, 
and immediately upon my application on board the ship where 
he was placed, he was returned to me, with some money he had 
about him. He had left his protection on board the vessel at 
the time when he was taken. 

In 4810, while I was at Martinique, a Portuguese boy named 
T gcph Friay. belonging to my vessel, was impressed from the 
'.^^ el ; he was detained two days, but upon my application he 
^^ discharged ; he had no protection, nor any indenture of ap- 

*„j^|ieeship ; he was a servant to my mate. 
' J ^|0 not know^of any person belonging to Yarmouth now under 



impressment, or other dentention by the British. One wan be^ 
longing to the town, viz. Enoch Hallet. jun has been taken 
and carjied into France, and is there detained. This informa- 
tion I have had from his father, who also says, that Hallet, to- 
gether with the mate (who does not belong to Varmouth) were 
detained as pledges for the performance of some agreement of the 
captain in regard to tlie ransom of the vessel ; Hallet's father 
has since told me that the mate abovementioued has returned to 
America ; his son remains in France. The mate, I understood 
from Mr. Hallet, had made his escape from the French prisons, 
where he and Hallet had been detained. I am one of the Select- 
men of Yarmouth, and have been one for six years past. 

JOHN ELDRIDGE 
Suffolk, ss. Feb. ±5th, 1813. 
Sworii to before 

AxEx. TowNSEND, J. Peace. 



[No. 3.] 

The Deposition of ^be^. Parsons. 

I reside in Boston, and have been engaged in commerce and 
navigation for about forty-five years. 1 have employed upon an 
average annually, from the year 1T93, about one hundred and 
fifty seamen in my vessels, engaged in foreign trade, up to the 
year 1803 ; and from the year 1803, to the time of the Embargo, 
I have employed about one hundred seamen, annually upon an 
average. No seamen have been impressed from any of my ves- 
sels, but the Byefield and Financier (which are related in the 
Deposition of Capt. Isaac Clarke) except tiie folloM ing, viz. — 
One of my vessels (the Financier abovementioned) commanded by 
Capt. Sargeant, about the year 1805 or 1806, being on her return 
from the East-Indies, put into St Helena, and while there, two 
of the crew were impressed from the shij) ; they m ere foreigners 
and had no protections. On another voyage of the same ship, 
to the Baltic, a young man by the name of Thacher, of Yar- 
mouth, was taken out by a British ship ; the young man had ta- 
ken a protection out when he was quite a boy, and had grown up 
at the time when he was taken, and the description in his pro- 
tection did not agree with his person ; tliis was the reason as- 
signed at the time for taking him. On the return of the ship, I 
forwarded a protection to Mr. AVilliams, of London, and Thach- 
er was immediately discharged. This protection was certified 
by the Selectmen, and Town Clerk of Yarmouth. 

The number of men employed on an average, including large 
and small vessels, in foreign trade, is about six for every hund- 
red tons of shipping. 

T do not know of any Americans impressed, from any vessel 



24 

belon^^^ng to the town where I reside, other than those above ' 
mentioned and referred to. 

1 have not had any men taken from my vessels by the French, 
except MJien mv vessels were taken by them. 

EBEN PARSONS. 
Suffolk, ss. Feb i.5th. 1813. 
Sworn to before 

Alex. Townsend, J. Peace. 



[No. 4.] 
The Deposition of William Parsons. 

I reside in Boston, and have been engaged in commerce and 
navigation about thirty years. 1 have employed in my vessels, 
anniiaily, upon an average, about hi'ty seamen, imtil the time of 
tlie embargo. I have no recollection of any of my se.imen being 
irapress-'d for the last twenty years, except in one instance. In 
the year 1806, a seaman was taken from the ship Meridian, capt. 
Lord, in coming out of Rotterdam, by a British sloop of war ; 
1 do not recollect tlie man's name; he and all the rest of the crew 
were shipped at jSorfolk, in Virginia, and there was only one 
American among them ; the man taken, as above, was an Irish- 
man. When I paid oft' the crew they informed me that they had 
bought their protections at Norfolk, for two dollars a piece. 
Capt. Lord applied to the commander of the sloop of war, who 
said he would deliver up the man, if the man himself would give 
liis word that he ^vas an American, which he would not do ; but 
said he had a wife in America. 

I 'Jo noi k'low of any American seamen being impressed from 
any re-**' ; '••.^•■'nging to the town where I reside, other than the 
vessels abo- e meiitio'i?d belon!*ing to me. 

The number of uieu emp''>yid yn an average, including large 
and small vessels, in foreign (lade, is aoout si::, for every hund- 
red tons of shipping. 

Upon inquiring of all the crew of the Mei'idian that were paid 
off as aboveraentioned, J found tliat there was but one instance 
where th'' tr le names of the men agreed with the names men- 
tioned in tlicir protections ; t! at was a Connecticut man. AVhen 
I speak of their true names J mean the names they gave me 
when 1 paid them o'T, and by ".vhicb they receipted }o me for 
their wages; many of them bad forgotten tlie names they went 
by in their protections. When tl ey were shipped at Norfolk, their 
protections \yerQ picked out, as capt. Lord informed me, from a 
lar;;e number of protections which were kept at the boarding- 
htBv^ ; and such protections were chosen as agreed with the per- 
sons of ihe seamen. 

Of ail the crews of my vessels that have been shipped at Bes- 



25 

ton. I do not recollect any instance vhere a man has been im^ 
pressed. 'I'lie Norfolk crew abovementioned was th^ only in- 
stance where a crew of mine had been shipped in any other port 
than Boston. 

WILLIAM PARSONS. 
Suffolk, ss. Feb. ±5th, 1813. 
Sworn to before 

Alex. Townsend, J. Peace. • 



[No. 5.] 

The Depoaition of Caleb Loring. 

I reside in Boston. I have been engaged in commerce and navi- 
gation between eighteen and nineteen years. 1 have employed 
upon an average annually, about forty seamen in foreign trade. 

I recollect, at present, but one instance of any of mj seamen be- 
ing impressed by the British ; in July 1809, two seamen, belong- 
ing to the ship Hugh Johnson, while she was lying at Palermo, 
w ere taken from her by a British brig of war ; 1 do not know 
their names — one of these men was an Englishman, tbe oth- 
er was an American. When the British officer boarded the ship, 
capt. Eames, who was the master of her, said to them, that if tliey 
Mere determined to take any, as he found they were, they must take 
that man. and pointed at the same time to the Englishman above- 
mentioned, and told the officer that the man was an Englishman. 
The officer, however, took the American. I do not know whether 
either of these two men had protections ; but Capt. Eames, told 
the officer, that he had known the American from a boy. We 
have always been very careful to select American seamen for our 
vessels, and such as had protections. I cannot undertake to say, 
whether tliese two men were shipped in Boston : fortbe vessel went 
to City -point on James River, Virginia, and there had to make 
np her crew, on account of some having left the vessel, according 
to the best of my recollection. I do not know whether any ap- 
plication was ever made for the discharge of the man impressed 
as above, nor whether he has been discharged or not. I do not 
personally know of any American impressed from any other ves- 
sel belonging to the town where 1 reside, other than the ease above 
me^itioned. 

Tlie number of men employed on an average, including large 
and small vessels, in foreign trade, is about six for every hundred 
toT!S of shipping. 

In saying as above, that we have al^ ays been very careful to em- 
ploy ^fimr'vican seamen, I mean to be understood that wc have 
carefully avoided employing Englishmen; Me have employed 
Danes and Swedes, and of other nations. 

I have never had any men impressed or taken by an/ other na- 



lion, except when my vessels have been taken, which has beei 
by the French as well as English. 

CALEB LORING. 

Suffolk, ss. Feb. Idth, 1813. 
Sworn to before 

Alex, Towk^end, J. Peace. 



[No. 6.] 
The Deposition q/^ John Holland. 

I reside in Boston, and have been a ship owner and master for a- 
bout twenty six years. I was a master of a ship for about fourteeH 
years ; and during that time usually had crews of about eight men 
upon an average .^ and while owner I have employed about thirty 
seamen anually on an average, for the last twelve years, except 
the year of the embargo. 

In the year of 1800, while I was master of the brig Mary of 
fioston, when off the Orkney Islands, one of my men was taken 
by a British sloop of war ; I do not recollect his name ; he was 
an American, and shipped as a green hand, and took no protection 
■with him. He had been serving at the hatter's trade in Roxbury. 
On my return to Boston I applied to the Collector of Boston, 
General Lincoln, and requested that documents might be foward- 
ed to London, which I procured and which were forwarded by 
Gen. Lincoln, and the man was discharged and returned home 
in about a year. I understood from him, according to the best of 
my recollection that when he was discharged by the British his 
wages were paid him. 

I have never had any other man than the above, impressed from 
any vessel in which I have been concerned, either as master or 
owner, to my recollection. 

The voyages of my vessels have been to the West Indies and 
to different parts of Europe. 

The number of men employed on an average, including large 
and small vessels, in foreign trade, is about six for every hundred 
tons of shipping. 

I have no knowledge of any other case of impressment from 
the town of Boston. 

JOHN HOLLAND- 
/Suffolk, ss. Feb. 15th, 1S13. 

8worn to before ^ 

Alex. Townsend. J. Peace. 

N. B. After this deposition was taken, the Committee receiv- 
ed the following note from Mr. Holland 



Boston^ Feb. i2th,i8i8, 
John Pickering, Esq. 
Sir, 

The person impressed from the Brig Mary under my 
•ommand, was named Oliver Blood. Permit me to correct an er- 
ror, he was pressed in the year 1799 and not 1800 as stated, but 
returned in 1800 and received the balance of his wages on 27th 
J;HBe,1800. 

Yours, Respectfully 

JOHN HOLLAND. 



[No. 7.] 
The Deposition o/ Moses Townsend, Esq. 

I Moses Townsend of Salem, in the County of Essex, Esquire, 
do depose and say — That 1 have been engaged in commerce and 
navigation for about thirty years, and was master of a ship about 
twenty years. I have usually had crews of ten and twelve men, 
upon an average. I never had any men impressed from any of 
the vessels under my command, except orice while I was at Bris- 
tol, in England. On that occasion, 1 had three or four men im- 
pressed, belonging to the ship Lighthorse, under my command ; 
they were taken in the evening, and upon my application through 
the American Consul, they were released the next day- The on- 
ly one of them that I recollect now, was John Patterson of Salem ; 
the others were all native Americans. I do not know whether 
they had their protections with them or not ; 1 recollect that ou 
producing their protections to the press-master, Ihey were releas- 
ed the next day ,this was I think, in the year 1796. No other cases 
are within my personal knowledge, except one, viz. John Fairfield 
of Salem, who was impressed and remained in the British service 
till his death ; he was taken from the slip Ann, (which I tliink 
belonged to Boston,) and by the last accounts we had from him, 
he was on bo«rd a British frigate, which was afterwards lost, or 
a missing vessel. He was impressed in India about 1797. 1 re- 
collect now the case of Edward Hulen of Salem, who has mention- 
ed to me his being impressed by the British in Madras reads, from 
the ship Betsey, about 1797. I think he said he had been under 
impressment some years, but he was released, and afterwards got 
home. Daniel McMillan, Daniel Bacon, Samuel Larrabee, jun. 
Thomas Vincent, Samuel Shepard, and two others from the same 
vessel with Shepard, I have understood from common report in 
Salem, have also been impressed from SaJem. Tlie last of the 
above cases I should think was about 1807 or 1808, but of the time 
I am not certain, though I think it was before the embargo. All 
of these except Bacon, have as I believe been released, and re- 
turned boBie : IpresuHne Bacon is still under impressment. James 



38 

and Joseph Syaionds also have heen impressed, and have since 
returned home ; they were from Salem. 

In addition to the above I shouUl slate the case of Clark. 

who gave his deposition before myself and anotlier magistrate, 
respecting his impressment about a month since. 

I do not know whether any application was ever made for tke 
discharge of Bacon or not. 

I have been one of the Selectmen of Salem for six years, and 
President of an Insurance office in Salem, ever since the year 1804. 

MOSES TOWNSEND. 

N. B. After this deposition was taken, the Committee receiv- 
ed the following note from Mr. Townsend. 

Salem, February 1.3, 1813. 
John Pickering, Esq. 
Dear Sir, 

In my deposition, in case of the crew of the ship Light- 
horse ; Patterson, one of them, it is stated that on producing their 
Protections they where liberated ; on reflection I am not certain 
they had Protections, will thank you to have the word " Protec- 
tions^^ erased, and in lieu thereof insert Ships Papers. I also find 
I was mistaken in the year ; it ought to be Sept. or Oct. 1795. 
I am. Sir, 

With esteem and respect, 

Your obedient humble servant, 

MOSES TOWNSEND. 

Suffolk, sS. Boston, February 1.3, 181.3. — Personally appear- 
ed the above named Moses ToAvnsend, in the presence of the Com- 
mittee appointed by the House of Representatives, on the subject 
of impressed seamen, and solemnly swore that he would make 
true answers to such questions as should be put to him, by the 
<aid Committee, relatiii? to the subject under thoir consideration,. 
Before me, Charles Jackson, J. Peace. 



[No. 8.] 
The Deposition q/" William W. Oliver. 

I William W. Oliver of Salem, in the County of Essex, do de- 
pose and say — That I have been an oflicer in tlie Custom House in 
that town for nineteen years past, ten of which I have been the 
Deputy Collector of that District. 

The cases of impressments from Salem, which have come with- 
in my knowledge, are the ffdlowing : 

John Dalton was impressed by the British about tor> years ago, 
I think ; application has been made through the Custom House, 



29 

to the Secretary of State, for his discharge ; I do not know the 
result of it, but believe he is still absent. 1 think there has been 
more than one application ; the last was about two years ago ; the 
first was made soon after his impressment, I should say about 
eight years ago. He \a as a native of Salem ; he had a protection. 
Elijah Eldridge, a native of Salem, Avas impressed about 1807, 
and was released immediately upon my application : 1 li»d known 
him from a boy — He had a protection. J cannot undertake to say 
tliat he Avas impressed, or whetlier he entered ; but I understood 
from his friemls that he had been impiessed. 

I have no recollection of other cases, except those mentioned in 
the deposition of Moses Townsend, Esq. and of three of them, 
viz. Vincent, Patterson and Clerk, I have no knowledge or recol- 
lection. Of all tliose cases, I think McMillan and Bacon, v.ith 
Dalton above mentioned, are still absent; all {he others have 
returned. 

There was one other case, that of one Talbot, (whose christian 
name I think was Francis,) a blackman, and native of Salem, 
M'ho was impressed before the embargo, and is still detained, as I 
believe. He had a protection, being known at the Custom House 
to be a native of Salem ; the instructions from the Secretary of 
State to the Collectors, however, are not to issue protections to 
blacks, or people of colour. Talbot's faUier has taken out pro- 
tections twice, and I think three times, for the purpose of obtain- 
ing the release of his son ; whether application has been made by 
him I do not know. I do not know from what vessel, or by Avhat 
vessel, he was taken. 

The law for granting protections was received at the Custom 
House, in the summer of I79fi, and the first protection granted 
from the Custom House at Salem, was on the first day of August, 
1796. 

WILLIAINI ^Y. OLIVER. 

Suffolk, ss. Boston, February 1.3, IS 13 — Personally appear- 
ed the above named William \V Oliver, in the presence of the 
Committee appointed by the House of Representatives, on the 
subject of impressed seamen, and solemnly swore that he would 
make true answers to such questions as should be put to him, by 
the said Committee, relating to the subject under their consider- 
ation. Before me, Charles Jackson, J. Peace. 



[No. 9.] -^m 

The JJejJositlon q/" Joseph Peabody. 

I Joseph Peabody, of Salem, in the County of E^sox, merchant, 
do depose and say — That I have been engaged in commerce and 
navigation about twenty eight years 5 eight of Avhich, or therea- 



30 

Bouts, I Avas master of a vessel. For the last twelve years, »r 
about that period, I have employed, upon an average, annually, 
in my vessels, one hundred and fifty seamen, in foreign trade. 

None of my seamen have ever been impressed, or detained, ex- 
cept the two following, viz. John Christian, a Swede, was im- 
pressed about a year ago, from my brig George, (C. F. Tucker, 
master,) at Gibraltar, and put on board an English sloop of war ; 
the sloop of war sailed before my captain knew of her departure ; 
hut the brig George, soon after proceeded to Malta, and there 
found the same sloop of war ; and Capt. Tucker, upon applica- 
tion obtained the release of Christian, without any diflieulty. I 
presume Christian had a protection ; he was naturalized, as I 
believe. 

Josiah Cotton of Plymouth, was a seaman on board the schoon- 
er Fish-Hawk, Jacob Lee, master. While at Trinidad, in a pub- 
lic house, (as Capt. Lee has informed me,) in company with some 
English seamen, belonging to a ship of war, he took sides with 
the Englishmen in opposing their officers, and was in consequence 
carried with them on board the ship of war, and detained. He 
was afterwards released without application, and has since re- 
turned home and applied to me for his wages. He was taken as 
above, about two years ago. I do not know whether he had a 
protection or not ; he was shipped at Baltimore. 

The above are the only instances of impressments from any of 
my vessels, at any time. 

I have no personal knowledge of any other cases. I have 
heard of the cases of Samuel Shepard, Samuel Larrabee, Daniel 
McMillan, which are mentioned by Moses Townsend, Esq. in 
his deposition. Shepard has since been released, and I think the. 
two men which were taken with him, from the Cynthia, (John H. 
Andrews, master,) have also been released ; I have seen Shepard 
mvself since his discharge. 

James Symonds and Josej)]i Symonds, also of Salem, who were 
impressed, have also been released, as I have learnt from a letter 
from them to their father, which I have read. 

JOSEPH PEABODY. 
Suffolk, ss. Boston, Feb. 13, 1813. 
Svvoru to Rs the procediug, before Charles Jackson, J. Peace. 



[No. 10.] 

17; e Deposition of l!^ATiiAN Felton. 

I Nathan Felton, of Danvers, in the County of Esscji, do de- 
pose and say — That I have been one of the Selectmen and asses 
sors of said Danvers, for fifteen years past, and ToAvn Clerk fo? 
twelve years past. 



31 

1 know of no cases of seamen belonging to Danvers, that hav e 
been impressed. 1 never heard of any person of the name of 
William Tyson Bunch, in the town. I was born in the town, and 
have always lived there. 

NATHAN FEL TON. 
BosT-oN, Feb. i3th, 181.3. 

The above named Felton, made oath 
to the truth of the above affidavit, before 
jne Lemuel Shaw, J. Peace. 



[No. 11.] 
The Deposition of Samuel Page, Esq. 

I Samuel Page of Danvers in the county of Essex, Esquire, do 
depose and say, that I was born in Danvers and have always resid- 
ed there — I have never known or heard of any person in the town 
by the name of Willam Tyson Bunch. 1 have never known of any 
person residing in the town who has been impressed or detained 
by any foreign nation. I have been concerned in navigation for 
upwards of twenty years, and have never had any men impress- 
ed from my vessels. 

It is possible that in some vessels which I have been concerned 
in with people of Salem, there may have been cases of foreigners 
impressed ; but I am positive no American seaman has ever been 
iaken from my vessels. 

SAMUEL PAGE. 
JBosroN, Feb. istli, 1813. 
Sworn to before me 

Lemuel Shaw, J. Peace. 



[No. i;^.] 
The Deposition of Joseph Mudge. 

I Joseph Mudge of Lynn, in the County of Essex, mariner, dc. 
.depose and say — that I have followed the occupation of a mari- 
ner for about twenty years, and have been master of a vessel 
from the first of January ISOO, (except about four mouths of the 
year 1812, while I was mate of a vessel, in order to get a pas- 
sage to the United States from abroad.) 

1 have had seamen frequently taken from me by British crui- 
zcrs, but never had any man that I knew to be an American, ta- 
ken from me, that was not released upon my application. The fol- 
lowing seamen have been 1 aken from me, viz Manuel, a Portu- 
guese, was taken from tht» brig Chatham under my cqpmand, by 



32 

the Hawk sloop of war, in the West-Indies in the year 1802 ', my 
A'essei was lUKcn at this time, li^ut tiie above named Porlii- 
guise was tiie only man that was iinally detained. — 1 liad ship- 
ped Manuel in the West-Indies, and he had no protection. 

in 1801) (jeorge Atweil, a native of Lynn, was taken, on shore 
at Liverpool in England, from the brig Bickford under my com- 
mand ; on applying myself at the rendezvous, he was released the 
same night aliout eleven o'clock ; 1 had his protection on board, 
and on my producing it, his release was allowed as above ; the 
press-gang at the same time threatened me that they would take 
me t]ie nixt day ; tiiey had taken me twice before; but upon my 
threatening thein, and telling tliem that i should carry a pair of 
pistols with me, they troubled me no more I never was at Liver- 
pool afterwards. 

In 1807 (I think about the month of December, or perhaps in 
Janiiarv 1808,) a man that Mas shipped by me at Madeira, was 
taken irom me in the brig Bickford ; 1 do not recollect his name, 
nor the '.uiue of the vessel that took him ; he liad no protection, 
av.d 1 never looked after him, supposing him to be an English- 
man. 

In 1808, in the Medlteranean, about the month of September, 
I had ojie man taken from me, who had come on board without 
my knowledge ; he owned himself to be an Irishman and was ta- 
ken away, as he had come, without my interference. 

In March 1808, I had a Portuguese taken from me hy the 
name of Manuel, or Emanuel ; he was taken from on board the 
schooner Hazard under my command, by a British ship of war, 
tluU ? do not recollect the name of, at Messina in Sicily. I had 
sliipjied him at Ulijraltar, and he had a Portuguese protection, I 
believe from the roi tugnese consul ; I applied for him, and the 
American consiil it IVieishia applied for him, and the British 
Cuasuj fliere .a<s-' F))fMn',scd to apply for him ; but the applica- 
tions were without sceeess- 

In tSiO, a man hy the name of Thomas Porter, belonging to 
Marhleliead, a. id a native of that place, was taken while my 
vessel, the brig Hannah of Lynn, lay at St. Bartholomews ; said 
Porter was at the time on board of a droger, or coasting sloop, 
on my business. He was taken by a British brig of war,l was in- 
formed of his being taken - but the British brig had sailed for St. 
Kitts, befor? ii could apply for him. 1 immediately took passage 
and ftilloved him, and got him again by applying to the Captain,' 
who being on shore gave me an order to his officers and he was 
discharged. I do not recollect whether he had his protection 
with him or not ; 1 think it probable his protection was in my 
hands ; as that was my usual practice in foreign ports. 

In 1811. T sailed from Boston in the ship Hannah belonging to 
Hon, W>n. Gray, for Marseilles ; in February of that year was 
captured by the British cutter Enterprenante. in the Mediterra- 
nean, and sent to Gibraltar — all my men's protections were taken 
Irom me with my other papers, two of my men were Retained 



tlipy t^oth belonged to Beverly ; one was Joseph and the 

other John On applying ibr them to the captain of tlie 

cutter, atter several applications, Joseph was given up, the cap- 
taii! telling me he was good for nothing; John was a Dane, hy 
biit:i, hut naturali7ed in the United States, and served his time 
will) Captain Benjamin Bickford, of Beverly, and had his pro- 
teeticM and ccrt.iicate of naturalization with him : they told him 
he must cither go to prison or must do duty on hoard; as they 
were at v,ar uitl; the Danes ; he was put on board the guard ship 
and prefer 'vd going to prison ; he was released after about twen- 
ty flsiys—on my petitioning to the admiralty Judge, the protections 
were all retr^ned to me. 

In 1812, abosit the month of August, I shipped on board the 
sehijoner Ocean, John Cruft of Boston, master, at Malta, to get 
my passage home, and shipped as mate. AVhile acting in that 
capacity was boarded by a British officer from a schooner of war 
at'triat port, who requested to see the protections of the crew, all 
wSiich 1 shewed him in the cabin, and he examined the men ac- 
cordingly. After w hich coming on deck, he ordered two of the 
men into his boat ; they observed to the officer that he had seen 
their protections, and by his request produced them again; he 
however attempted to pocket the protections, but they took them 
from him and handed them to me ; he then ordered his men to 
heave the two men into his boat, which they did and carried 
them on board. They were both Americans, that is, Benoni Baker, 

of the town of , on Cape Cod, and China Owens of the 

to^y,i of , in the interior of Massachusetts. The Captain 

of the Ocean applying on board the schooner of war, was told to 
call again at eight'o'clock in the morning, when the commander 
would be on board. This I was informed of at the time by Cap- 
tain Cruft. Captain Cruft then told them that he should apply to 
the admiral if they did not give up the men, upon which they re- 
leased the men. The British vessel sailed at six o'clock the next 
morning. 

After the officer had ordered the men to be put into his boat, 
as above stated, I observed to him, that if his Britannic Majesty's 
vessels were commanded by gentlemen, we should not have so 
much difficulty between the two countries ; he asked me ^^hat I 
meant by it; I told him he was a blackguard, and no gentleman, 
and that I had treated him like a gentleman ; upon which he 
drew his dirk and threatened to take me on board. I armed my- 
self with a hatchet and told him to keep oft' at the risk of his 
life, which he did. 

I know of no other case personally, of men belonging to the 
town of Lynn, that have been impressed — Col. Breed of Lynn has 
often enquired of me if I knew any thing of his son, who he said 
was on board of a British man of war ; I do not recollect 
now whether he told me his son was impressed or not ; but he 
mentioned that he had frequently applied for his discharge to the 
Secretary of State, and to the American agent at London — His 
name was Joseph Breed. 



34 

I have also been informed by Mary Lindsey of Lynn,that lier son 
Benjamin was impressed about six years since and that she had 
had several letters from him ; he was on board the Hazard sloop 
of war, I think. She has since told me, (about six months ago) she 
had heard of his death on board. 

JOSEPH MUDGE, 
Suffolk, ss. Feb. ±5th, 1813. 
Sworn before me 

Alex. Townsend, J. Peace. 



[No. 13.] 
The Deposition of Zachariah Atwell. 

I Zachariah Atwell, jun. of Lynn in the county of Essex^-mar- 
iner,depose and say — that I have been master of a vessel about sev- 
en years past. I never have had any seamen taken from vessels 
under my command, except the following, viz : — John Antonio, a 
Portuguese boy, was shipped by me in Boston, in September 1810, 
I think. When I arrived at St. Ubes, he was demanded by the 
Portuguese government and taken from the vessel by order of 
that government, signified to me by the Deputy Consul of that 
place, Mr Hagermeister ; he had no protection and was not in 
my muster-roll. 

An English boy, whose name I do not recollect, in the year 
1809, came on board my vessel, the Pocahontas, while I lay at 
Lisbon ; he staid two or three days, and was taken out by a man 
of war's boat, which is the last that I have heard of him. He had 
MO protection and was not in my shipping paper. 

1 know of one. other case, viz : — William Lamphier, who cal- 
led himself an Englishman; I shipped him in Norfolk, Virginia, 
iu April, 1812 ; he was sent on board my vessel by David Hall of 
Portsmoul'i (Virginia) who called him his apprentice and signed 
the shipping paper on his beha'F as his master. He brought with 
liim to me, the protection of Lamphier, as well as of George 
Boush, who was also his apprentice, as Hall informed me. I was 
eaptured on my voyage from Lisbon, for Boston, and was carried 
into St. John's, Newfoundland, about the 21st of July, 1812 ; all 
tny crew were released except Lamphier, who had entered on 
board the sloo]» of war, and did duty as a sailor at the time while 
I ani «ny crew were prisoners on board of her. He declared him^ 
self to be a native of Liverpool, in England. 

The protection which Hall, his master, gave me as above stat- 
ed is hereto annexed.* 

* The forgerv being apparent only in the original protections, it is useless 
to insert copies oi tUe n ; Lhe originals may be inspected on the files of the 
House of Representatives, 



^5 

The only other case that I know of from the town where I live, 
is that of Joseph Breed, a sou of Col. Fred, Breed, of Lynn, who, 
«,s his father has informed me, is now on board of a British man 
of war ; 1 have always understood that he was impressed 

I have also heard of the ease of Benjamin Lyndsey, stated in tlic 
deposition of capt. Mudge ; I had the information from his moth- 
er, to the same effect as capt. Mudge has stated. 

In addition to the foregoing I should state that while I was in 
Norfolk, in April 1812, I shipped a man that I picked up at a 
boarding-house there ; the landloid brought into the room a hand- 
ful of protections, and took out one and handed to the seaman, 
saying, " there is one that will fit you." The name in the pro- 
tection was John Johnson, and the protection stated that the ntan 
named in it had lost the great toe off his right foot ; but I dis- 
covered some time afterwards that the man I shipped had not 
lost either of his toes. 

ZACHARIAH ATWELL, Jr. 
J&uFFoLK^ ss Feb. ±5th, 1813. 
Sworn before mc, 

Alex. Townsend, J. Peace. 



[No. 14.] 
The Deposition of Andrew Harraden. 

I x\ndrew Harraden, of Salem, in the county of Essex, marin- 
er, depose and say, that I have followed the occupation of a mar- 
iner about thirty-two years, of which I have been master of a ves- 
sel from the year 1791, to this time, excepting two voyages per- 
formed during that period. I have never had any seamen im- 
pressed from my vessels except in one instance In the year 
1803, while at Cape Francois, in the month of August, a man by 
the name of George Randall of Boston, was taken from my vessel 
by a French press-master and his gang, and carried on board a 
French frigate lying at that port. On application to the com- 
mandant of the port he was released the next morning. None of 
my men were ever taken or detained by tlie English. 

I know of no other cases of impressment personally ; a second 
cousin of mine by the name of Philemon Warner Harraden has 
been in the British njfvy for as much as sixteen years past; hut 
I have been informed by his brother, Nath. Harraden, who resides 
at Washington, that Philemon had entered into the British ser- 
vice voluntarily, and was, by the last accounts, in India, serving 
as a boatswain, and that he was married in England. 

I have heard of the cases of four Salem men, who were taken 
from the Cynthia, belonging to Salem ; they were taken about the 
year 1805, I think ; two of them were Samuel Shepard and Sam- 
Hel Larrabee ; the other two I do not remember. Shepard an*i 



36 

Larrabee have both returned ; I have seen them frequently since, 
and from my knowledge of the time when they returned, 1 should 
tliiuk it was about twelve or eighteen months after they had been 
taken by the British. 

ANDREW HARRADEN. 
Suffolk^ ss. Feb 15th, 1S13. 
Sworn to before 

Alex. Townsend, J. Peace. 



[No. 15]. 
The Deposition of Jos i ah Orne. 

I Josiah Orne of Salem in the County of Essex, mariner, de* 
pose and say — that I have been master of a vessel about twenty 
seven-years. 

I never had any men impressed from the vessels under my 
coinmand by the British except in one instance — that was in 
ISOl. I was bound from New-York for the Havanna, about the 
first of August, in the-brisj Exchange While at i^ea on the west- 
ern edge of the Bahama Bank I was becalmed in sight of a Brit- 
ish frigate (the Cleopatra, Capt. Pelew) I was boarded by the lien- 
tenant, who requested me to go on board the frigate with my pa- 
pers ; which I accordingly did. On examining my shipping pa- 
per he found a name tliat he appeared to be acquainted with, and 
went on to describe the man named, in such a manner as to leave 
no doubt in my mind that he had known him before, and he said 
he should take him. — He dismissed rne, with orders to his officer 
to bring tbat man on board tlie frit^ite. When we returned to my 
ship, the lieutenant observed, th;i<^^ i jere were two ot'mv men tbat 
he must take ; one of them had bo. n an old shipmate of his ; as he 
said, which was Charles Willis, who had been described to me as 
above mentioned by the captain of the frigate. My sailors bad in- 
forned me that Willis, by his ow)i acknowledgment to them, had 
not been away from the frigate above tlree months. The other 
appeared to be a green Irishman, and had a broad brogue ; his 
name was James Wilson ; they both had protections which they 
had procured at New-York : but when they applied to me they had 
no protections, and I 'nade that objection, and observed, tbat if 
they could get protections I would ship them, which was done. — 
These two men were taken by the British lieutenant. 

In the y^ar ISOfi while I was at Cherbourg in France, a sea- 
man by t^;3 name of John Baptiste Sire, whom I had shipped at 
Boston in June of that year, and who called himself a native of 
Louisiana, having some difficulty with the mate of my vessel, ap- 
plied for his discharge ; and on my refusing it. he made applica- 
tion to the Commissary of Police at Cherbourg declaung himself 
to be a Frenchman. — The Commissary sent me the order to dis- 



charge liim wlilcli isliercto annexed ; lie came to tlie ship himself, 
accompanied by a soldier and presented me the order and I dis- 
charged him. 'He had a paper in the French language which he> 
had procured in Louisiana, and which he called an American pro- 
lection— His name was in the muster roll, as a Louisianian ; but 
not in the certificate of citizenship which is usually put on the 
hack of the muster roll— He had shipped for the voyage out and 

home. T. 1 1 !_ • 

I afterwards went from Cherbourg to Bordeaux and being 
short of hands, shipped two young men, who appeared to be 
Freachmen by the broken English they spoke ; both of them ha* 
American sailors' protections : 1 succeeded in getting only one ot 
them on board ; w hen I got down to the mouth of the river, au 
oflicer from the guard ship came on board and demanded two 
French sailors of me, saying that the commandant had received 
information from the Commissary of Bordeaux, which stated that 
1 had taken aw ay two Frenchmen from Bordeaux. I answered, 
that only one was on board, and after a strict search, not bein^ 
able to 'find the second man, and perceiving that my steward 
spoke French, insistediipon taking him— This steward was au 
indented apprentice who had been w ith me two years, and was n. 
Genoese ; his name was Jerome Rolla. I applied to the Com- 
mandant for the release of this man. but without success, as the 
Commandant insisted that Genoa belonged to the French, and 
that the man was considered as a French citizen, and he must 
take him, I showed the Commandant the indentures, but he paid 
no regard to them, and kept this man as well as the other. 

I applied to my correspondent to solicit the release of my ap- 
prentice and then left the river— about twelve months after, the 
man returned to me in the United States, and informed me that 
mv correspondent had obtained his release by giving bond that 
he. Rolla, should return to Genoa by land, which he did. 

From the year i:93 to 1800 I was usually on India voyages; 
from 1800 to'l807 on European voyages. ,^^, . „ oR\E 

Suffolk, ss. Feb. 15, 1813. 
Sworn to before 

Alex. Townsend J. Peace^ 

DEPARTEMENT Cherboiirs:, le 28 Juillet, an 180G, 

DE LA MANCHE. 13 de la Republique Frangaise. 



V I L li E . , -n 1- J 1 '77 

DE CHERBOURG. Le Commissaire de Police de la viiu 

de Cfierbours:, reqitiert le capitaine Josi am 

POLICE. Orne, commandant du Brick Jlmericaiu 

K ! > Exchange, de faire dcbarquer Jean Ba- 
tiste Sire, mafeiof «tr sons bord, reconnu I^rancais des isles di^ 
m. Pierr& Miquehn-.dont lafamilk habits la vilk rfe St. Jial^. 
'5 



33 

X« captaim Ornefera en meme temps debarquer la malle et fjfeif' 
de ce marin. Far le Cre de police. 

GUIFFJRT. 

[TRxiNSLATION.J 

Department Cherbourg, 28th July, isoo, 

OF L a Man' che, and iSth of the French Repuhiick. 

City of CHERiiouRG. The Commissary of Police of the 

' city of Cherbourg, requires Capt. Josiali 

POLICE, Orne, master of the American briaj Ex- 

*~- ^-y ' change, to semi on shore Jean Baj:)<is<e 

Sire, a seaman on hoard, ascertained to he a Frencliman oi the 
Islands of St. Pierre Miquelon — \>hose relations are inhahiiaiits 
©f the town of St. Malo. Captain Orne w'AX at the same time 
cause to he sent on shore the chest and effects of the said seaman. 
Sy the Commissary of Police. 

GUIFFART. 



[No. 16.] 
Nathaniel Hooper's Deposition. 

I, Nathaniel Hooper, of Marhlehead, Merchant, do depose an<T 
iSay — that 1 havebeen engaged in commerce and navigation Mith 
ttiy father and brothers for about niueteeu years past, and for 
about seven years previous to the Embargo, we employed usu- 
ally upon an average about fifly seamen in our vessels. We 
have never had any men impressed from any of our vessels, that 
we know of. 

I have heard of the following cases of seamen from Marble- 
head — viz. 

Paul Newhall, of that town, sailed from Marhlehead in the 
schooner Abigail in the year 1809,1 think. The vessel was con- 
fiscated by the French government at St. Sebastians, said New- 
hall entered on board a French vessel and was taken at the Isle 
of France when that island was taken by the English ; he was 
allowed, to be considered as a French prisoner, or to enter into 
the British naval service, and agreed to the latter. He after- 
wards wrote to his friends in Marblehead, and informed tliem 
that if the master of the schooner Aliigail (Mhiehhe went in 
from Marhlehead) would certi% that he, Newliali, had beea 
compelled to enter into the French service, the English would 
^lischarge him ; 1)ut the Captain of the Abigail could not do it. 
This information 1 had from his brother in law Capt. ilaury N. 
Quiner. He has not returned home. 

About eight years ago, four or live men were taken by a 



39 

'Biitish sliip out of a fishing vessel belonging to Marbleliead,, 
and vere restore J ijuniediately on arriving at Halifax. 1 pre- 
sume tliey were Marblehead men, and 1 presume tliey had not 
protections, as tlie fishermen did not usually take protections at 
tfirtt period ; but I do not know how the fact was in this case. 
Jacob Wadden, of Marblehead, w^as discharged in France from 
an American vessel, that w?-S sequestered there (under the Ber- 
lin Decrees in the December after it was publishetl) and he was 
afterwards fotind to be on board of a British man of war ; I 
have never heard tliathc was impressed, and on application bj 
liis friends about two or tliree years ago he was released. I do 
not recullect any American impressed from a Marblehead mer- 
chant vessel by the British. 

NATHANIEL HOOPER. 
Suffolk, ss. Feb. 15. 1S13. — Sworn to before me 

Alexander Townsend Just. Peace. 



[No. 17.] 
Benjamin T. Reed's Defosition, 

I, Benjamin T. Reed, of Marblehead in the County of Essex, 
raereliaiii, depose and say, that 1 have, with my brother, been 
engaged in trade and navigation, for about eighteen years past. 
Before the Embargo, we usually employed two vessels annual- 
ly, the crews of which would be from twelve to fifteen men — we 
never had any men impressed from our vessels previous to the 
Embargo, to my recollection— Since tliat time, viz. in July 1S08, 
two of my vessels sailed from Marblehead for the W. Indies, 
and were taken on their rtnurn voyage by the English — The 
men all returned except one, viz. Charles Rose, (1 think that 
was his name) he sbipped in Marblehead as an Jimerican, but I 
objected to his being shipped at the time, to my mate (who had 
engaged him) because he was an Englishman as I then thought, 
and as he a'^terwards acknowledged to me himself; but he pro- 
cured an Amojieau protection, and he went in the yessel, which 
was eithc'r the schooner Lively, or Xhe schooner Ocean. He 
did not pretend to be naturalized. He first brought with him 
a protection v.'hich did not answer to his person ; and then went 
away and obtained another which agreed with his person. He 
was impresed in the West Indies by a British ship of war, 
iVom which he deserted and got back to Marblehead in about 
three or six months after he had been taken. 

During the last five years, i have employed for myself, and as 
Agent for others, from fifty to eighty seamen, annually, upon an 
*vorage— -Ido not kuow of au instauce of any one af them being 



40 

impressed, and have generally settled with tlie lueu myself at 
tlic 7nd of their voyages. 

1 have heard of the following ease,s of seamen belonging to 
Marblelicad, m ho are now absent — viz. 

John Smith, of that town, sailed for France about 180T, and 
there entered on board a French privateer, and was tjii:e;: l)y 
an English armed ship and entered on board of her, vt here he 
remained till last spring, since which time his family has re- 
ceived a letter from him, mentioning that he had been released 
from the service, but Avas detained as a prisoner of war and was 
to come home in the first cartel, this information J had from his 
sister. 

William Hooper, of Marblehead, has been on board of a 
British ship or ships for several years ; two years ago his Fath- 
er received letters from him dated on board the Elizabetli a 
seventy four gnu ship in Falmouth, in which he says he had 
made application for his discharge to two different Consuls, but 
wilhout effect, and was now determined to get away himself as 
soon as he had liberty to go on shore, M'hich he had been prom- 
ised the ensuing week, or week after that. lie has not been 
lieard of since by his friends This information I had from his 
Father. He is supposed by his friends to be impressed 5 I do 
3iot know how the fact is, nor did his father inform me. 

Thomas Curtis, of Marblehead, entered on board the frigate 
Essex about 1798, or 17 Q, and about a year ago his friends had 
letters from him requesting them to send out a protection tliat 
lie might get a release, Mhich was accordingly sent out and they 
have not heard from him since. This information I had from 
his aunt, Mrs. Collier ; I asked whether he was impressed, but 
she could not say ; she however, supposed he was impressed. 

Samuel Brimblecom, of Marblehead, was also on hoard a Brit- 
ish ship ; supposed to have been impressed, but he has since 
returned, upon application having been made. 

John Hoi den, who was impressed in England has been dis- 
charged, upon application, and is at home. 

Richard Peirce, sailed from Marblehead seven or eight years 
ago ; got liberty to go on shore in the Streights, nd was left 
hy his captain for alledged misconduct : he has written home 
(about four years ago) that he was impressed and desired to 
have certificates forwarded for his release, which was done. — 
There has been no aceomiL of him since. This information is 
from his uncle, Mr. Peirce. 

Philip Brimblecom, sailed from Marblehead about eighteen 
or nineteen years since and was in)])ressed with some others, all 
of whom Mere released except him, as his Captain did not apply 
for him. This was in the West indies about tbe year il'^JH, or 
1794, or at the commencement of tbe dislurbances in the French 
West Indies. This information is from -ilrs. Wooldridge, an 



41 

ftunt of liis. They have not heart! from him, for six years. 1 
do not kijovv whether application has ever been made for his re- 
lease or not. 

Paul Ncn hall, I kiiow noihiii? more of than has been stated 
by Mr. Nathaniel Hooper, in his deposition. 

' Israel Eatun, was also on board of a Britisli ship, and has 
been released on application. I do not know whetlier he was 
impressed or not, he has returned home. 

Benjamin Ashton, sailed from Marblehead about six years 
ago (before the Embargo) and entered on board a Frencli pri- 
vateer, \\bieh was taken by a British vessel of war ; Ashton cii- 
tered in the British ship, and was discharged last March ; af- 
ter which, he shipped on board of a Britisli Indiaman on a voy- 
age of fourteen mor.ths, and has not since been heard from. — 
This information m as given me by his wife. 

V\ illiam Homan, v.ho is absent from Marblehead, and is sup- 
posed to be on board a British ship of war, 1 know nothing of. 

BENJAMIN T. REED. 

Siiffulk, ss. Feb. 15, 1813. — Sv.orn to before 

Alexaader Tovv^xsend, Justice Feace. 



[No. 18.] 
William Gray's Deposition. 

I, William Gray, of Boston, in the County of Suffolk, Esquire, 
do depose and say, that I have been engaged in commerce and 
navigation forty or fifty years, and have for the last fifteen or 
twenty years employed about three hundred seamen annually 
upon an average. 

I recollect the following eases of impressments and detentions 
of my seamen. In the year 1811 Avhile one of my vessels, the 
Rachel, was at Leith in Scotland, two of my men, to wit, Sam- 
uel Tuck, and I think Israel Eoster, were impressed from the 
vessel ; one of them I understood escaped from the man of war, 
and reached my vessel before slie left Leith ; the other I also un- 
derstood effected his escape with the aid of a wateriian at Liver- 
pool. I cannot recollect any other eases of impressments by the 
British from my vessels ; but from tlie multiplicity of my busi- 
ness, it is almost impossible for me to rememl/er tlie individual 
cases : I have no doul»t that tiie aforenamed Tuck had a pro- 
tection. 

I recollect no eases of impressments and detentions by the 
French, except the three Swedes taken soon after the affair of 
the Chesapeake, and which are stated in my letter to Col. Pick- 
ering in the year iy08. 



I hate had whole crews taken in inv vessels when they hav« 
been captured, both by (he English aiid French ; but I do not 
mean to say, that the men in those cases were impressed or de- 
tained by those nations. 

The other cases within my knowledge, are four men belong- 
ing to Salem, which were taken in the Cynthia, John H. An- 
drews, master, about lh06. 1 made application myself for one 
of them (Samuel Shepltard) and he was released. I do not re- 
collect hearing what became of the other three. 

Another case, about the year 1807, was that of four fisher- 
men, belonging to the Northfields in Salem, who were taken oft" 
Halifax, by a J5ritish ship ; the British officer, as I understood, 
assigned as a reason, that they had no protections ; to which 
they replied, that it was not customary for fishermen to have 
them. I was concerned in sending evidence of their citizenship 
to Halifax, by a vessel hired for the purpose, and they were 
released upon that application. I think tlieir names were Sy- 
moiids and Skerry. 

I have lately received a copy of a letter from the supercargo 
of the ship Pekin, belonging to Philadelphia, on which I am an 
underwriter; the letter is dated the 15th July, 1812, at Calcut- 
ta, and states, that in February preceding, while he was at or 
near Batavia roads, the men of war, that had been ordered on 
an expedition, impressed every seaman belonging t<» the vessel ; 
the letter gives no account of what has become of the men since. 
The most recent case in my knowledge, is that of the barque 
Mary, (belonging to my brother Samuel Gray.) On her pas- 
sage from Boston to Savannah, in November or December last, 
u lad belonging to Beverly was impressed (by the Southamp- 
ton I think) ; the lad was a Portuguese or Spaniard by birth, 
w hich was the reason assigned, when he was impressed ; and 1 
understood that he had a protection, and was bound as an ap- 
prentice in Beverly. 

I think I can reeolleet three or four eases more, in which I 
have been requested to apply for the discharge of men impress- 
ed, generally from Salem. I recollect one other Salem man, 
named Thomas Driver, who was killed in the battle of the Nile ; 
hut from the circumstance, that a sum of money passed through 
my hands, for the benefit of his family, which 1 think was a 
part of the subscription money, raised at Lloyd's coffee house in 
London) I am inclined to think he had entered into the British 
service ; but I do not know how the fact was- 

I do not recollect any other information on the subject of the 
present inquiry. 

WILLLVM GRAY. 
Suffolk, ss. Feb. 16, 1813. — Sworn to before 

Alexander Townseni), Jiiatice Peace. 



4s 

[Jlddition to the Hon. Mr. Grut/s Beposiiion.'] 

1 can HOW iadd to the foregoing, tiie following cases. James 
'Cobiiru of Easton, ]\larylau(l, who was taken hy the Swordfish, 
American privateer, when she captured an English vessel late- 
ly. He had been impressed, as his brother states in a letter to 
me, about nine years ago. His last protection (which his broth- 
er forwarded to me,) 1 find is dated, June 4, 1804. He was al- 
lowed by the Marshal to go upon his parole, before I received 
the letter from his brother, and the Marshal has not seen him 
since, but will discharge him when he appears. 

Two of the seamen also, that were taken in the Macedonian 
sometime since applied to me for employment ; they said they 
■were Americans, and that they had sailed in my employ, but 
I did not know them. They said they had been impressed. 

I have understood, that nine of the seamen taken in the 
Guerriere, were impressed Americans, and have been discharg- 
ed by the Marshal, since she was captured. 

Two men have been landed from the Constitution, that were 
taken by her in the Java, in the late battle ; they are Ameri- 
cans as I am informed, and ha^c been discharged as such, and 
Lad been impressed. 

The proportion of foreigners in the mcrcliant service of the 
United States, varies mneh in different places. In Massachu- 
setts Proper, I should think the proportion would be, including 
foreigners of all nations, from fifteen to twenty per cent, j of 
British subjects, 1 should think not more than five per cent. 

The Protest of the captain of the Pokin, (the sliip above men- 
tioned) does not make mention of the impressment of the crew,, 
which is stated in the above letter. WILLIAM GRAY. 

Suffolk, ss. Feb. 19, 1813. — Sworn to before 

Benjamin Weld, Justice Peace. 

{Letter referred to in the foregoing Deposition.'] 

Salem, Jan. 6th, 180S 
Sir, — Our mutual friend, Mr. Goodliue, has shewn me a let- 
ter, in which I think you ask what is the extent of the complaint 
against the British for impressments of our seamen. I have 
taken the liberty to give you my opinion, that since the Ches- 
apeake affair, we have had no cause of complaint. I cannot 
find one single instance, where they have taken one man out of 
a raefchant vessel. I have had more than twenty vessels ar- 
rive in the time, without one instance of a man's being taken by 
them, except three Swedes that were taken out by a French 
frigate. 1 have made enquiry of the commanders of all the 
vessels that have arrived in this vicinity, and cannot find any 
complaints against the British eraizers. 1 think the British en- 
gaging that our National ships shall not be searched, ought to 
satisfy us on that head. 1 presume, the only cause of the em- 
bargo was the threat of Bonaparte, tliat he would put his De- 



44 

ereo of 21st Nov. in force. Tliis I think, was uot sufficient to 
justify so strong a measure. May we expect the, embargo will 
be oft' soon, or must we wait to hear from France ? When you 
have a moment's leisure, will you write what is tlie prospect of 
the times, as particular as you can consistently ? You know my 
whole estate is in i.avigation and foreign commerce ; and it is a 
very eventful moment with such property. I cannot think it 
possible, that we shall be mad enough to go to war with either 
of the two great nations. 

I am respectfully, Sir, your most obedient servant, 

WILLIAM GRAY. 
Hon'ble Timothy Pickering, 

Senator, U. S. Washington. 



[No. 19.] 
OziAS Goodwin's Deposition, 

I, Ozias Goodwin, of Boston, merchant, do depose and say — 
that I was master of a vessel about eighteen years from the port 
of Boston, until the year 1799 — and since that time have been 
concerned in commerce and navigation. 

The following is the only case of men impressed from any of 
ray vessels. — In the year 1793, George Stillman, of Boston, was 
taken from the ship Diana, under my command, at Bristol, in 
England, but was returned to me the next day, on my applica- 
tion to the officer of the press-gang. At that time American 
seamen did not carry protections ; the greater part of my crew 
were Englishmen, on that voyage. 

In one other case of American seamen within my knowledge, 
the seaman, viz. 8eth Townsend, of Boston. wa<i supposed to be 
impressed ; but in the letter which he wrote to his mother, 
which I read, about the year 1807, he himself stated that he 
had been on shore in Liverpool, and had imprudently entered 
into the British service, but now wished his mother to procure 
his die; charge. 

I recollect no other cases of impressments or detentions fro»» 
the town of Boston. 

OZIAS GOODWIN. 

Suffolk, ss, — Feb. 16, 1813. Sworn to before 

Alexander Toavnsenp, .Justice Peace. 



[No. 20.] 
Theodore Lyman's Deposition. 

T, Theodore Lyman, of Boston, in the county of Suffolk, mer- 
chant, do dep6se and say, that I have been engaged in commerci? 
and navigation at)out thirty five years, and have employed not 
less than an htuulrcd seamen amiually upon on average. 



49 

I have no recollection of but two instances where any persons 
have been taken out of my vessels. One was about the year 
1803 or 1806 ; a master of one of my vessels (Capt. Barker Ba- 
ker) being on a voyage from Boston to Amsterdam, was board- 
ed in the English channel, by a British vessel of war, which 
took out of my ship, a Dutch boy, that was a servant to Capt. 
Baker ; the boy had no protection nor was entered on the ship- 
ping paper ; but 1 think Capt. Baker had brought him out from 
Holland the voyage before, and kept him in his family. I 
do not know what has become of the boy since ; Capt. Baker 
did not, to my recollection, apply for his release j but I do not 
kno\v the fact. 

The other case was this, about the year 1806 or 1807 when one 
of my vessels was on her return from Calcutta, she had on board 
a Lascar, that was taken on board in India. She was boarded 
by a British vessel of war, and when the British officer came on 
board, the Lascar expressed a wish to go on board the English 
vessel ; the master of my vessel objected to his going, but the 
British officer said, if the man wished to go with him he should 
take him, which he accordingly did. 

From the year 1794 till within three years past I have usual- 
ly had eight vessels at sea annually ; and in no instances except 
the above have I had any complaints from my masters of their 
men being taken from them, nor has any person ever applied to 
me to obtain the release of any seaman in my employ, who was 
alleged to be impressed or detained abroad. 

THEODORE LYMAN. 

Suffolk ss. Boston, Feb. 16, 1813. Then Theodore Lyman 
Esq. above named, made solemn oath to the truth of the above 
declaration by him subscribed before me, 

W. H. Sumner, Justice of the Peace. 



[No. 21.] 
James Perkins' Deposition. 

1 James Perkins, of Boston, in the county of Suffolk, iner- 
chant,do depose and say, that for the last twenty years past, my 
brother and myself, who are partners in trade, have employed 
from one hundred to an hundred and fifty seamen annually up- 
on an average. 

I do not recollect but one instance in that period, where a 
man has been taken from any of our vessels. In the year 1807 
three men were taken from our ship Hazard (then lying in Can- 
ton river) William Smith, master. Those three men were 
shipped in Boston ; tlve captain on his return, informed me that 
the three men were foreigners ; one of them, named Mc Elroy, 



46 

I have seeu siuce ; he is a foreigner to my knovvletlge. I can- 
not sav whether they had protections or not. 

I have never in any instance whatever, had complaints made 
by the masters of our vessels, of men being taken from them, 
except the above, according to the best of my recollection. 

JAMES PERKINS. 

The following are the names of the persons taken from the 

Hazard, as stated in the above deposition. viz. 

James Beaton, 
Thomas Taylor, 
Barney Mc Elroy. 

JAMES PERKINS. 

Suffolk, ss. Boston Feb. 16, 1S13. James Perkins made oath 
to the-truth of the above declaration by him subscribed before 
me, ^y.liiivuNE■R, Justice of the Peace. 



[No. 33.] 
Thomas H. Perkins' Dejposition. 

I Thomas H. Perkins, of Boston, mcrcliant, do depose and 
sav, tliat I am a partner with my brotlier James Perkins, 
(who has tbis day given his deposition) have always had the 
particular care of that part of our biisiness that relates to the 
shipping of our seamen. We have always employed at least 
from an hundred to an hundred and fifty seamen annually, upon 
an average, and I do not recollect any instances of impressments 
except of tlie three men mentioned by him, who Avere foreigners. 
In our vessels, we have usually had a iifth part and I think, a 
fourth part of our crews foreigners, chiefly English and Irish- 
men. In repeated instances, foreigners have applied to me for 
employment, and -stated that they had no protections and did 
not wish to go to the trouble of getting them, till they were sure 
of employment, and that they could get protections through the 
masters of the boarding houses in town. In several instances 
thev have brougiit me protections tliat did not agree with their 
persons, and told me they gave two dollars a piece for them. 

The same seaman will often procure more than one protec- 
tion, by going to the Custom House and proving by his own 
oath or that of others, that he had lost his first protection. 

T. li. PERKINS. 

I further state, that according to my best knowledge and be- 
lief, the house of J. & T. H. Perkins has employed, in vessels 
fitted for sea by them from this place, upwards of twenty five 
hundred persons, from the vear 1793. 

T. H. PERKINS. 



. Suffolk, ss. Boston Feb. 16, 1813. Tlieu Thomas H. Perkins 
Esq. above named made solemn oath to the truth of the above 
declaration by him subscribed, before me, 

W. H. Sumner, Justice of the Peace. 



[No. 23.] 
Deposition of Aaron Breed. 

I, Aaron Breed, of Lynn, in the county of Essex, do de- 
pose and say— ■ 

That I know of no cases of impressments from the town of 
Lynn, of my OAvn knowledge ; but the following cases from that 
town I have heard of. 

Joseph Breed, a son of Frederick Breed ; Benjamin Lyndsey, 
son of Mary Lyndsey, who left home the 1 1th October, 1805, 
and was impressed in May, 1806, by the sloop of war Hazard ; 
he died on board, as it is believed, about two years ago ; I can- 
not say whether any application was made to the American oc 
British government for his discharge ; I am inclined to think 
not ; nur do I know whether he had a protection ; I think he 
wrote home that he was impressed at Plymouth, in England. 
Benjamin Gray, about June last, informed me that he 
left Lynn, and went to Boston, at the age of four years, and 
there staid till he was twenty ; then he followed the sea, and 
sailed out of one of the southern states ; and was impressed by 
the British, and there kept in different ships for seventeen 
years. He then procured his discharge by means of the consul 
in some foreign port. 

William Flint left Lynn about 1791. Li 1800, he was seen 
in Portland, by Ezra Mudge, of Lynn, who informed me, that 
Flint told him, that he had been on board of a British man of 
war J but I do not recollect that Flint told Mudge that he had 
been impressed, nor how he had been discharged. 

AARON BREED. 

SUFFOLK SS. 

Boston, Feb. 18, 1813 The within affidavit sworn to be- 
fore me,, 

Alex. Townsend, Jus. Peace. 



48 

[No. 24.] 

Deposition of Nahum Mitchell. 

I Nahum Mitchell, of Bridgewater, in the county of Plym- 
outh, depose and say — 

That I was born and have always lived in Bridgewater. I 
have never heard of any cases of persons impressed from that 
town. There never was any man of the name of William Rob- 
inson within my knowledge impressed from that place. I have 
been a selectman five years ; but not within ten years past. 

NAHUM MITCHELL. 

SUFFOLK SS. 

Feb. 16, 1813. — Sworn to before 

Alex. Townsend, Jus. Peace. 



[No. 25.2 

De}Josition of John Thomas. 

I, John Thomas, of Kingston, in the County of Plymouth, 
esquire, depose and say — 

That I was born, and have always lived in that place. Antho- 
ny Tamer, a resident in that town, wa*- a Hamburgher by birth, 
and lived in Kingston, about ten years ; he had run away from 
a British man of war, and got on board of an American fishing 
vessel, that brought him to Kingston. He procured a protec- 
tion as an American seaman, and was impressed, as he told me, 
about two years ago on the coast of Europe, and by means of 
his protection was released, on application of the consul or 
agent, in London, and is now at Kingston. I never heard of 
any other instance of impressment from the town. 

JOHN THOMAS, 



49 

[No. 26.] 

DeiJosition of William Orxe. 

I, William Orne, of Salem, in the county of Essex, mer- 
chant, depose and say — 

That during the last twenty years, I have employed, upon an 
average, about sixty men annually, in my vessels. The only 
cases'of impressment fiom my vessels, that I know of, are the 
following. 

In 1803, the ship Essex, Joseph Orne, master, being bound 
from Salem to Amsterdam, had a man, by the name of James 
Newhall, on board, who was impressed on the passage. New- 
hall said he was born in Windsor, in Connecticut, and at the 
time of his being taken, told the captain of my ship, that he had 
forgotten to take out his protection from America, and the cap- 
tain desired me to send it o-ut to the consul, in London. 

I wrote to the selectmen of Windsor, who answered me, 
that there was no such man belonged to either of the towns of 
Windsor or East Windsor. Not long after, the man returned 
to Salem, and was found to be a British subject. 

In 1810, John Hanson, a Swede, was taken out of my brig In- 
dustry ; he had no American protection, but had a Swedish doc- 
ument. He soon after returned to Salen^., and 1 have paid him 
off. 

WILLIAM ORNE. 

SUFFOLK SS. 

Boston, \9th Feb. 1813. — Sworn to before me. 

James Savage, Jus. Peace. 



[No. 27.] 
Deposition of John Tucker. 

I, John Tucker, of Gloucester, in the county of Essex, 
do depose and say — 

That I have been master of a vessel for about forty-seven 
years and until the last seven years. I never had any men impress- 
ed from any of my vessels. About the year 1796, while I was ly- 
ing at St. Pierre's, Martinique, an English officer from one of 
the frigates there, demanded a sight of the protections of my 
men, as the laws of my country, as he said, made it necessary 
that my men should have them. I told him, I knew of no such 
law, having been absent about twelve months from my country. 
He told me, he should take my men on board for examination. 
I followed them on board ; they vverc detained about an hour, 
and then discharged. 



50 

I know of no case of impressments from the town of Glouees* 
ter, except the following. 

A relation of mine, by the name of Aaron Burnham, has been 
in the British service about two years, and says he was impress- 
ed on shore in a British port ; he has written home frequently, 
but has never expressed any desire to be discharged, that I have 
heard of; his father and I are very near neighbours, and I 
have fi-equently conversed with him, when he has informed mc 
of receiving his son's letters ; but he never stated that his son 
vas desirous of returning. 

Daniel Parsons and Ignatius Parsons, I have heard, were on 
board the British navy j but 1 have no knowledge of their hav- 
ing been impressed. 

About the year 1796, (it was before our seamen took protec- 
tions) while I was at Amsterdam, three of my men, viz. Jona. 

Cook, John INIedlcy, and John , an Englishman, requested 

a discharge from my vessel, and entered on board an English 
ji^erchant ship, at that place. They went to Lisbon ; and while 
there, were impressed on shore by some British ship. Cook 
has since been home, and is now again in the British merchant 
service. I have never heard of Medley since ; he has left a fam- 
ily in Gloucester, but they have never applied, to my knowledge, 
for a discliarge. Cook and Medley were both of Gloucester. 

Benjamin Oakes, of Glouccslei-, was taken about two years 
ago, as I have understood, and that it was for want of a protec- 
tion ; a protection has been sent out to him, at Halifax, and he 
has not yet returned. 

Nathaniel Riggs, of Gloucester, was on board a British ship, 
hito which he had entered and served, and received his wages 
and prize-money. Pie has been at home four or live years. 

JOHN TUCKER, 

SUFFOLK, SS. 

Boston^ Feb. 18, 1813. — Sworn to before me. 

Alex. Townsend, Jus. Peg.ce. 



[No. %S.~\ 

Deposition of Joseph Moody. 

I, Joseph Moody, of Kennebunk, in the county of York, 
depose and say — 

That I have resided in that place ever since the year 1780, 
and have been concerned in commerce and navigation for the 
last 16 or 20 years, and have employed usually, in vessels in 
which I have been concerned, upon an average, from 40 to 50 
seamen, annually, except during the embargo and non-inter- 



oi 

course, I have never had any men impressed from any of my 
vessels. The greater part of the voyages have been lo the West 
Indies, and some to England, and other parts of Europe. 

I know of one case, from Arundel, (which is the port of Ken- 
nebunk) — About twelve or fifteen years ago, a young man by 
the name of Tobias Loid, was taken out of aKcnnebunk vessel, 
by a British ofhcer, and detained a short time, (my impression 
is, that it was a month or tAvo) and made his escape in the 
night, after being taken a second time, while they lay in port, 
on that voyage. He returned in a short time ; whether in the 
same vessel or not, I do not knoAv, 

From the same port, there was one other case ; that of 1 

Day, about six or seven years ago. He was in Halifax, four or 
five years ago, and wrote to his father to send out a protection, 
or other evidence ; and stated that upon receiving* evidence, he 
would be discharged, as the officer assured him. I saw the let- 
ter — the evidence was sent out and he has been at home two or 
three years. 

JOSEPH MOODY. 

SUFFOLK, SS. 

Feh. IS, 181 3, — Sworn to before 

Alex. Townsend, Jiifi. Peace, 



[No. S9.] 
Deiiosition of William Davis.. 

Ij William Davis, of Plymouth, in Massachusetts, depose 
and say — 

That I have always resided in that town, and have been one 
of the Selectmen of the town for twenty years. 

The following are the cases of impressments, which I have 
heard or known of, from that town. 

Barnabas Otis, jun. a native of Plymouth, was impressed 
about eight years ago ; he had no protection ; he made his es- 
cape about two or three months after his impressment. He was 
impressed from a vessel belonging Mr. B. Hedge, jun. of that 
place. ^ 

I have heard of two other cases ; one was Barilett, of 

Plymouth, who was impressed from a fishing schooner, about 

eight years ago ; also, Burgess, of Carver, taken at the 

same time, I think. They were both released upon application. 
I think they were detained about six or eight weeks ; but can- 
not be particular as to this fact. I recollect no other cases 
from Plymouth. 

WHJJAM DAVIS. 



5^ 



SUFFOLK, SS. 

Feb. 19, 1813 Sworn before 

Benj. Wkld, Just. Peace. 



[No. 30.] . 

Deposition of Israel THOR^■DIKE. 

I, IsRAKL Thorxdike, of Boston, in the County of Suffolk, 
esquire, depose and say — 

That I have for a considerable part of the time for ten or 
twelve years past (excepting the time of the Embargo) usually 
employed, on an average, more than two hundred seamen annu- 
ally, on board my own vessels, and those which I have had un- 
der freight and charter. The average of the length of the voy- 
ages I should think was about six to eight months ; not exceed- 
ing eight months — 

I have not had more than six or seven men, to my recollection, 
impressed from my vessels, and those vessels employed by me, 
during that period — I cannot now recollect the names of the 
men ; the names of the vessels were the ship Ale-<;ander Hodg- 
don, from which two or three men were taken about the year 
1805 or 1S06. Tliey were, as I understood from the captain, 
all foreigners. — I think they were shipped in Leghorn — and I 
think they were impressed on a voyage from that place to the 
East Indies. — I do not know whether they had any protections 
or documents, or not — and have not since heard of them. 

The brig Hector had one man impressed from her, off the 
Isle of France, about 1803 or 1804. He was, as I was inform- 
ed by the captain, a Frenchman ; and I am inclined to believe 
he was shipped at Beverly — but do not know whether he had a 
protection or not, nor have I heard of him since. — 

The brig •, Swazey, master, lost one man in Liverpool, 

about 1809. His name was Neptune, an African, and he had 
there eniered into the British service, while in a state of intox- 
ication as I was inlor!ned by the supercargo. The man had for- 
merly been a servant in my family — I have not since heard of 
him. The brig Gilpin had two men taken from her, while on 
her voyage to Russia in 181 1, as I was informed by my clerks, 
who had their information from the captain. These two men 
were both foreigners as I have been informed — I have heard 
nothing of them since — nor do I know whether they had any 
protections or not. — 

Daniel Parker, a British subject, who had a wife and family 
in Beverly, was impressed from one of my vessels about twenty 
years since, in the Downs, or some other port in England. — He 



53 

was, as T was informed, requested by an officer of my vessel, at 
the time when he was taken, to declare tliat he was an American ; 
but said he would not deny his country, and surrendered him- 
self. — i'his information 1 had from the captain of my vessel, 
the Fabius. — He has since returned to his family in Beverly—* 
I think he returned about twelve, or fifteen years since. I have 
no recollection ©f any other case of impressments from any oth- 
er vessel in which I have had a concern. 

ISRAEL THORNDIKE. 

BOSTON, SUFFOLK, SS. 

On this eighteenth day of February, in the year of our Lord 
one thousand eight hundred and thirteen, personally appeared 
Israel Thorndike above named and made oath to the truth of the 
above before me. 

JosiAH Waters, Jua. Peace. 



[No. 31.] 
Deposition of Josiah Waters. 

I JosiAH Waters, of Boston, in the county of Suffolk, 
depose and say — 

That I have been a clerk in the custom house, at Boston, for 
about fourteen years, and until the year 1809. 

The first protections granted to American sejimen, were in 
the year 1796. The manner of granting protections was this— 
Sometimes the seamen brought certificates of their being citi- 
zens from a magistrate, or notary publick, the town clerk, or 
minister of the parish ; such certificates were generally consid- 
ered as conclusive evidence, and protections were granted ac- 
cordingly. 

In some instances, the seamen were known personally to the 
custom house officers, or clerks, and piotections were graiHed, 
in such cases, a declaration, on oath, being first made, by the 
clerk or person who knew the seaman, before the collector him- 
self, who kept on file a certificate of such declaration. 

In some cases, I should state, that we did not consider the 
above certificates as conclusive, and sent for the persons who 
had made oath before the magistrate or notary publick to the 
citizenship of the seaman in question ; and if the witness did not 
give satisfactory evidence, a piotection was refused, notwith- 
standing the certificate of the magistrate. 

It w-as the custom to grant new protections to the same sea- 
man, upon evidence of his having lost the first one, and produc- 
ing a new certificate from a magistrate ; in spme cases, their 



54 

protections were worn out and defaced, and we granted new 
ones, upon delivering to us tlie old ones. 

In the course of the period abqvementioned, it happened in 
many cases, that the seamen used to bring as witnesses to prove 
their citizenship, the masters of boarding-houses ii» Boston ; 
and, in some instances, the same masters of boarding-houses 
were brought so often, as to excite suspicions of their veracity, 
and their oaths were not afterwards admitted. I recollect two, 
wlio were thus suspected, and their oaths were never after- 
wards received. 

When the muster rolls were to be certified, the protections 
of the seamen composing a crew, were all examined at the cus- 
tom house ; and, in many instances, false protections were de- 
tected and destroyed. Two of such false protections I have 
preserved, and herewith exhibit them* ; one of them is an en- 
tire forgery, and the other is an altered one. I have destroyed 
hundreds of such false ones myself. 

I have also an altered protection, (herewith exhibited) grant- 
ed originally to Paul Rice ; it Avas brought to me, as a notary 
pwblick, by John Banks, whom I thought, by his speech, to be 
an Englishman ; and, upon my charging it upon him, he ac- 
knowledged himself to be an Englishman, that his name was 
John Banks, and that he was born in White Haven, in the coun- 
ty of Cumberland, in Great Britain ; the protection is altered, 
in the description of the height of his person. The three pro- 
tections above-mentioned are hereto annexed. 

In one instance a half quire or quire of blank protections 
were brought to the office, which had been found in the posses- 
sion of a sailor, by Mr. Green, of Boston, who brought them to 
the custom house, to be destroyed. They were mere blanks, 
without seals or signatures. 

J. WATERS. 

SUFFOLK SS. 

Feb. 18, 1813. — Sworn to before 

Alex. Townsend, Jus. Peace.. 



[No. 3S.] 
The Deposition of Edward Lander. 

I Edward Lander of Salem, in the County of Essex, merchant, 
depose and say — That while I was in Leith, in the year 1811, in 
October, two men belonging to the Rachel, owned by Hon. William 

• The forcferif boinp; apparent only in the origh^al protectiuns, if is usele«is to 
ins^twi copies of thetii ; the urig-iiials may be in3j)ected on the files of the tlouse cf 
Heri-esUHlatives. 



55 

Grray, were taken from the vessel by an English boat ; their names 
were Israel Foster and Tuck, of Beverly, in Massachu- 
setts. Foster Mas released the next day, or the day after, and 
returned home in the same vessel. The other was put on board 
the Diadem sixty-four, which went to sea before the application 
reached her. At the request of the captain of the liachel, I wrote 
a letter to the American Consul at London, (Mr. Lyman,) which 
captain Mattinly (master of the Rachel,) signed and forwarded. 
The letter was written the day after the men were taken, but be- 
fore the return of the man who was released as I have stated 
above. 

I have understood since my return to this country, that Tuck 
effected his escape at Spithead, by means of a waterman, in about 
one month after his impressment. They were both Americans, 
and had protections. 

EDWARD LANDER. 
Suffolk^ ss. Feb. I8th, 1813. 
Sworn to before 

Alex. Townsend, J. Fence. 



[No. 33.] 
The Deposition q/' William Story. 

I William Story of Marblehead, in the County of Essex, de- 
pose and say — That I have been master of a vessel from the year 
1797, to 1807. That I have heard of the following cases of per- 
sons now absent from Marblehead, on board of British ships. 

John Smith, a native of Marblehead, was impressed, as I have 
learnt from letters of his, which I have read ; the letters stated 
when and where he Mas impressed, and on board of M'hat vessel ; 
he was, by the last accounts, on the Jamaica station. I do not 
knoM' how long he has been under impressment. 

William Hooper, a native of Marblehead, Mas impressed, I 
think about seven years ago. He has repeatedly m ritten home to 
his friends, and they have sent out documents for his release, but 
he has not yet been released, so far as his friends know He m as, 
during his impressment, kept on ship-board for three years, Mitli- 
out going on shore, as lie stated in his letters ; he Mas male of a 
New-York vessel, I tliink, at the time he m as impressed. I think 
there can be no doubt he had a protection, because it Mas then 
customary for seamen to take them. 

John Holden, a native of Salem, sailed from Marblehead, about 
1810, in the brig Helen, owned by Joseph Barker; Mas impressed 
the same year, from on board a letter of marque Mhich had cap- 
lured the Helen ; lie had a protection and sheued it, but without 
effect. He M'rote home several letters, and his friends forM ardcd 
documents to the Consul at London ; he m as in Lisbon Avhen his 



56 

documents arrived in J5ngland, and information %vas received by 
the Admiral on the Lisbon station, that Holden m as an American, 
and he directed the captain oi' the sliip where Holden was, to dis- 
charge him ; which was not done, however, till eapt. Thompson 
(oi'Marblehead,) made application to the Admiral again, and 
stated that he knew Holden : upon which the Admiral gave ano- 
ther order to the captain, and stated to captain Thompson, that 
he before that time had ordered his discharge. Upon the Ad- 
miral's second order, Holden was discharged, and returned to the 
United States, in the summer oi' 1812. This information I had 
from Holden himself, and from Captain Thompson. 

Thomas Curtis, a native of jMarblehead, was impressed about 
ten or twelve years ago ; he has written home several letters to 
his friends, who have sent out documents for his release, to the 
Consul in London ; the last letter from him, I thiuk was about 
three years ago, which was the last that I know of him. I do 
not know whether he had a protection ; but I can have no doubt 
that he had This information I have from his friends, and from 
his letters, some of which I have seen. 

Samuel Brimblecom, a native of MarbleJiead, (whose mother 
was a Wooldridge.) was impressed about eighteen or twenty years 
ago ; I do not know wliere nor from what vessel ; he has written 
home letters, some of which I have seen ; the last was dated I 
think, about three years ago, and I saw it last summer. His 
friends have sent out documents to London, but he has not been 
reL^ased, that they have heard of. 

Richard Pearce, a native of Marblehead, was impressed at least 
^Ix years ago ; I do not recollect where, nor from wliat vessel, 
nor on board of what vessel he is imw. I have seen letters from 
him, and his friends have sent out documents ; but he has not been 
released, that they have heard of. 

Philip Brimlflecom, a native of Marblehead, was impressed, 
and Tvas discharged, or escaped, as I am inclined to think, about 
a year ago, and has returned to the United States ; he must, I 
thi'.k, have had a protection. 

Pi\ul Newliall, a native of Marblehead, was impressed in Eng- 
la-uL i think, at least four years ago, and was asked to enter, 
which be refused. His letter, which 1 have seen, states also that 
he was kept on bi-eafl and Mater, upon so short allowance for a 
fortnight, i think, tbat he was obliged to enter, to save his life ; 
that was the substance of his letter. He had a protection when 
he sailed- 

Israel Eaton, a native of Marblehead, was impressed about 
four or iive years ago. 1 should think; I believe it was in the 
Mediterranean. His friends have had letters from him, and doc- 
uments have been sent out : he has since been at home, as I am 
informed. In one of his letters to his friends, he mentions, that 
he had been turned over from the ship that impressed him, to 
another ship, on board of one of which, he met with his brother, 
^^illiam Eaton, who had been supposed to be dead for many years^ 



57 

havin" been absent from Marblehead ever since about the year 
1790, as I think. Israel's letter states, that his brother informed 
hiiu he had been impressed, but how long before, I do not recol- 
lect. William has not returned. I have no doubt but that Isra- 
el had a protection. 

Benjamin .\shton, a native of Marljlehead, was impressed, I 
thiiiiv, after li^e embargo ; 1 do not know from what ship, nor 
wlirire. Kjs fnends have had letters from him, which 1 have 
seen » do not know whether application has been made for his 
dis< hari^e or not. He had a protection. He has not returned, to 
my knowledge. 

The above named are all from w horn letters have been received. 
Ti;eir letters state, generally, that they had been turned over 
from dtJierent ships to others, and to different stations; and that 
they had attempteii to escape, and been taken back. 

The tollowiiig persons are known to me to be natives of Mar- 
blehead, and (lave been absent several years, viz. — .Tohn Nichol- 
son, William Homan, Thomas Mitchell, Jacob Wadden, x\mbrose 
Dodd, W iiiiam Mitchell. Their friends supposjc them to be un- 
der impressment. This information 1 have from a person who 
conversed with their friends ; and who says that their friends had 
ascertained tlsem to be under impressment, by :]ie British. 

Joseph Furness of Marblehead, was taken in August last, by 
one of the British ships of war on our coast ; ! think it was the 
Belvidera. He was in the private armed schooner Dolphin of 
Salem, Endicott, master While a prisoner of war on board the 
Belvidera, he was taken and carried on board the San Domingo. 
Several persons swearing that they knew him to be a Poi'tuguese 
subject. After he got on board the San Domingo, he declared 
that he was an American, and would not fight against his coun- 
try, and he told tliem they might shoot him as he stood, if they 
chose. On that, they put him on board the Guard-ship. Docu- 
ments were sent down for hi* release, and he lias returned home. 
The circumstances as above stated are according to my best 
knowledge and belief. 

Ten men were taken from on board the ship Three Brothers, 
William Brown master, and myself mate, as soon as we came to 
anchor, in Madras roads, in the year lT9i. < cannot recollect 
their names. Foar of them had consular pi'otections, and i was 
satisfied tliat they were Americans. The other six I expect were 
Eni^lishmen. Wlien the men shewed their protections, they were 
taken bv the British officer, and torn to pieces. Captain Bro\>n 
applied for their release, but could not obtain them. We were 
then left with only the carpenter, and one man on board, in dis- 
tress, and so far from home. 

The circumstances as above stated, are according to mv best 
knowledge and belief. WILLIAM STORY. 

Suffolk, ss. Boston, Feb. 2ith, 1813 — Then W illiam Story 
above named, made solemn oath that the above declaration |)y 
him subscribed, as far as his knowledge and belief extend^^ j^ 
true, before me W. H. Sumner, J. PmCf, 



' 58 

[No. 34.] 
TJie BejJosition cf William Crabtree. 

I William Crabtree of Portland in the state of Massachusetts, 
depose and say — that I hare been master of a vessel for twenty 
years, and have for that period, sailed out of Portland. I never 
had any seamen impressed from any of my vessels. My voya- 
ges were to the West-Indies and to Europe. 

On one of my voyages from Dominique, I had some seamen (be- 
longing to a Newburyport schooner) that were passengers on 
board of my vessel ; one of them had no protection, but was an 
American, as his captain informed me, and he was taken from my 
vessel by a British sloop of war. I made a representation to the 
captain of the sloop of war, informing him, that the man was an 
American, upon which lie was immediately released, the same 
day. This took place in 1806. 

I know of no cases of men impressed belonging to the town of 
Portland. WILLIAM CRABTREE. 

Suffolk, ss. BosroN, Feb. 19fA, 1813. 
Sworn to before me, 

James Savage. J. Peace. 



[No. 35.] 
The Deposition of Otis Little. 

r Otis Little of Castine, in the County of Hancock, depose 
and say — That I have been concerned in commerce about twelve 
years, and for the last seven years I have employed about fifteen 
seamen annually, upon an average. I know of no case of impress- 
ment from any vessel in which I have been concerned, except the 
following : 

In, or about the year 1807, two men belonging to the Brig Uni- 
ty, then in the West-Indies, at an English port, being on shore, 
without their protections, were taken by a press-gang ; but on ap- 
plication of the Captain of the Unity, they were immediately re- 
leased. They were American Citizens. 

The only case of impressment I know of from any vessel be- 
longing to Castine is the following : John Douglass, of Sedgwick, 
in said couuty of Hancock, was impressed from a sloop, com- 
manded by Capt. Coan, about ten years ago, and was detained 
about twenty months ; and as I understood then made his escape, 
and has returned home. 

One other person whose name 1 do not now recollect, but who 
had sailed several voyages from Castine, was impressed in the 
West- ndies, was detained about a month, and then discharged, 
as \ understood from him. 



69 

I recollect of no other vCases of impressment from that town. 

OTIS LlTTLPl 

Suffolk, ss. Feb. l&th, 1813. 
Sworn to before me, 

Alex. Townsend, J. Peace. 



[No. 36.] 
The Deposition o/William Parker. 

I William Parker of Boston, in the county of Suftblk, mariner, 
depose and say, that in the year 1805, 1 shipped as seaman on 
board the ship called the Charles Carter, capt. John Tompkins, 
at Norfolk, in Virginia, bound to London. Y\^hen at Loudoii- 
myself with the rest of the crew, except the cook, and one green 
hand, left the said ship, on account of a difficulty with the said 
Captain. Captain Tompkins desired us to return, but we refus- 
ed. Before we left the ship, capt. Tompkins gave up all the pro- 
tections, to the persons to whom they belonged, except mine, which 
he retained. The reason why he retained it was, because he un- 
derstood from me, that I was going to leave the ship. 

After I left the ship, I shipped on board the ship Horizon, of 
Charleston, South-Carolina, capt. George Douglass, bound to 
Lima, and the coast of Peru. By capt. Douglass' application 
to Mr. Lyman, consul at London, I obtained another protection. 
A few days after, viz. Feb. 26, 1806, being on shore about the 
city, I was taken up by the press-^ang ; I shewed them my pro- 
tection which I obtained from Mr. Lyman, they told me it was 
of no use, that capt. Tompkins liad informed them that 1 was an 
Irishman, born in Newry, and that he knew my parents there. 
They produced to me a paper, which I knew to be capt. Tompkins' 
hand writing, stating that the seamen who had left his ship were 
English, Irish and Seoth, and that I particularly was an Irish- 
man I Avas taken by the gang, and carried on board the tender 
called the Enterprize*. Capt Douglass made application to the 
regulating Captain, for my release, which was of no use, as capt. 
Tompkins had, as I understood, sworn that I was an Irishman. I 
was drafted into the Valorous ship of war, and w ent to sea. I 
was detained about five years and a half, and made my escape 
from on board the Belfleur, a ninety eight gun ship, on the seventh 
day of August, 1811, at Lisbon, and got a passage on board tl e 
ship Fanny, capt. Burk, and arrived at New -York, September 15, 
1811. During the time I was detained. 1 was in service on board 
the following British vessels, viz — The Valorous, the Zelant', 
the Namur, the Bautercr, the Nemesis, the Royal William, tl e 
Swiftsure, the Horatio Nelson, the Penelope, the Peggy schooner. 
the Thistle, the Shamrock, the Centurion, tlie Martin, the Milan, 
the Cleopatra, ajiid the Belfleur as above. 



60 

I frequently ^vrote to my friends, requesting them to send out 
documents for my release, which, on my arrival home, I found 
had been sent to Halifax, but which I had never received 

During my detention, I became acquainted with the following 
American seamen, viz. — Samuel Gammon, of Boston, was on 
board the Guerrier, from which, he was afterwards sent on board 
the Victory : he told me he had been impressed, and had not en- 
tered 1 do not know whether he had a protection or not. 

John Merklc, son of Mr. Merkle, furrier, in Boston, was 
on board the Halifax, sloop of war, in 1809 ; he told me he was 
impressed about three months before, and had a protection, which 
he shew me. 

^John Fuller, of Boston ; he was on board the Banterer, in 1808, 
he told me he had been impressed, and had escaped twice, and 
on being impressed the third time he had entered, to prevent be- 
ing punished, as he told me; he had a jirotection ; his third 
impressment was from onboard an English East-ndiaman, and 
by the same lieutenant who first impressed him. 

James Mackay, of Boston, was on board the Belfleur in 
1811, he had been impressed from two to three years ; he had a 
protection from the Custom House, in Boston. He sent his pro- 
tection to Mr. Lyman, consul in London, in order for his release, 
but did not receive any answer, or his protection again. 

I have understood, since my return, from my mother, that Ad- 
miral Coffin received from her documents for my discharge, viz. 
a register of my birth, baptism, and protection. I saw him with- 
in a few days after his arrival at Halifax, and spoke with him, 
and he did not represent to me he had any thing I'or me. 1 was 
on the Halifax station about two years and a half. 

WLL: AM PARKER. 

Suffolk, ss Boston, Feb i9fh, 1813 — Then AVilliam Parker 
above named, made oath to the trutli of tlie above declaration, by 
him subscribed, before me, W. H. Sumner, J. Feace, 



[No. 37.] 
The Deposition of William Bainbridge. 

I William Bainbridge, Esquire, commodore and commander of 
the United States frigate Constitution, depose and say — that on 
board the British frigate Java, lately captured by the frigate 
Constitution, to the best of my knowledge and belief, there was 
but one American among the crew of the frigate Java ; who is 
now on board the Constitution. He is a black man, by t'le name 

of Freeman ; born, as I understand, in New-Jersey. My 

impression is, that he informed me, that he was impressed. 

There were on board the Java, at the time of her capture, eight 



61 

Anierioaii seamen, as prisoners of war ; taken from the ship 
William, of Portland, a prize to the Java. 

In the year 1794, or 1795, while I was commander of the mer- 
chant ship Hope, of Philadelphia, I had one man impressed by 
the Indefatigable, Sir Edward Pelew, commander. The man's 
name was Donaldson, of the state of Rhode-Island, as he told me, 
and as I believe. He had no certificate of citizenship ; but I 
have no doubt of his being an American All the rest of my crew 
had certificates of citizenship. I have never heard of him since. 
On my return to the United States, I entered a protest, and for- 
warded it to the Department of State. I recollect of no other ca- 
ses of impressment, within my own knowledge. 

WILLIAM BAINBRIDGE. 

Suffolk, ss. Feb. 20th, 1813. , 

Sw orn to before 

Alex. Townsend, J. Peace. 

U. S. Frigate Constitution, ] 
Boston Harbor, Feb. 21st, 1813. 
Sir, 

in answer to your note of last evening respecting the impress- 
ment of a seaman by the name oi John Turner from the ship Hope 
of Philadelphia under my command, I have to reply, I com- 
manded the ship Hope of Philadelphia from 1793 to 1798, during 
which period 1 made several voyages from France to the West- 
Indies. On one of said voyages, bound to St. Bartholomews, I 
had one of my crew impressed by an officer of the British ship 
of war Indefatigable, commanded by sir Ed^^ ard PelcM' ; the 
seaman's name I still think was Donaldson, but in this, I may be 
mistaken, as my memory is not great at the recollection of names, 
particularly of sailors, having had so many under my command. 
The fact is, I never had but one man impressed from me, during 
my command of a merchant ship ; and that was in the very latter 
part of the year 1796 or very early in 1797, when I was on a 
voyage from Bordeaux to St. Bartholomews. I think I stated 
to the committee, yesterday, that it was in 1791 or 1795, that the 
impressment took place. On further reflection I find I was mis- 
taken, in thinking it was in those years, which mistake origina- 
ted from the great elapse of time, and being in those years, in 
the same trade. 

I am very respectfully, Sir, 

Your obedient servant, 

WILLIAM BAINBRIDGE. 
John Pickering, Esquire. 

N. B See also commodore Baiubridge's letter, to the commit- 
tee, next to the deposition of John Hewes, No. 49. 



6S 

[No. 38] 
Tlie Deposition of Asa T. Newhall. 

I Asa T. Newhall of Lynnfield, in the County of Essex, Es- 
quire, depose and say, that I know of no eases of impressed sea- 
men belonging to Lynnfield, except the following : Andrew Mans- 
field of Lynnfield, sailed from Boston about fourteen years ago, 
and was impressed (on his first voyage) and detained on board 
a British man of war. His brother, Isaac, being on board the 
same vessel from which he was impressed, gave the information 
to his Mother on his return. Soon after which his Mother for- 
warded documents for his release. He told me that he was shift- 
ed into several different vessels, which he said he supposed was 
the reason why he did not receive his documents sooner. 

After being some time under impressment and in order to ob- 
tain better treatment, he entered ; not having any prospect of be- 
ing soon released ; after he had entered, and two or three years 
after his iinpressment, evidence of his being an American reach- 
ed the ship he was in. His release was refused, on account of 
his having entered. He remained in the British service about 
seven years ; at the end of which time he was discharged, and 
received his wages ; he returned home soon after. 

Amos Newhall, of Lynnfield, sailed from Boston, about nine 
years since, and has since been seen on board a British man of 
war ; as I have understood from his brother ; but whether he was 
impressed or not, his friends do not know. 

ASA T. NEAVHALL. 

Suffolk, ss Boston^ Feb. 27th, 1813. — Then the above named 
Asa T. Newhall, solemnly affirmed that the above deposition by 
him subscribed, contains the truth, the whole truth, and nothing 
but the truth ; 

Before me, W. H. Sumner, J Peace. 



[No. 39.] 
TTie Deposition of Thomas H. Tobey. 

I Thomas H. Tobey of Sandwich, in the County of Barnstable, 
yeoman, depose and say — That I know of no cases of impress- 
led seamen from said town except the following : 

Edmund Fish of Sandwich, was impressed about sixteen or 
seventeen years ago, and detained on board a British man of war. 
He wrote home to his friends, to send on documents for his re- 
lease ; which were sent on. About three years after he was im- 
pressed. He did not receive them ; and documents were sent out 
a second time. I do not know whether he had a protection or not 



63 

whea he was impressed. He has not returned, nor has he been 
heard of by his friends since.— I do not know to whom the docu- 
in^nts were sent. THOMAS H. TOBEY. 



[No. 40.] 
The Deposition of Charles Durant. 

I Charles Durant of Roxbury, in the County of Norfolk, trasr 
der, depose and say— That know of no case of impressed sea- 
men from said town, except the following: 

Edward Williams of Roxbury, sailed from Boston m 1.99, on 
board a vessel commanded by Captain Edes, for India, as I 
think He told me that he was impressed by the British 
squadron on the India station. After being detained on board 
about twelve or fifteen months, he made his escape, and has 
since returned home, i do not know whether he had a protection 
when he was impressed ; but 1 am inclined to think he had not. 

Samuel C.Dudley, as I have been informed by his brother 
Thomas, was impresed and is still detained as 1 am informed. 
' ^ CHARLES DURANT. 

Suffolk, ss. Boston, Feb. 20th, 1813— Then the above named 
Charles Durant made solemn oath to the truth of the above de- 
ration by him subscribed. Before me, 

W. H. Sumner, J. Peace. 



[No. 4t.] 
The Deposition of William Sturgis. 

I William Sturgis of Boston, in the County of Suffolk, Mer- 
chant, depose and say— that 1 have been concerned in Commerce 
and Navegation for about sixteen years ; eleven years ot which 
1 have been master of a ship. My crews, upon an average, have 
consisted of about twenty five men. For the last two years J 
have employed about seventy seamen annually. 

1 have never had but three seamen impressed from any vessel 
in which 1 have had a concern— These were taken from on board 
the ship Eugenia, under my command, at Canton. One was an 
American, named Lewis Brice. a mulatto, who had no protection 
—one an Englishman, and iiad no protection— the other I did not 
know of what country he was ; and also had no protection. 

I never have been a voyage without the crew being more or less 
composed of British subjects, with American protections. 



The abore named Lewis Brice returned aUout a year after- 
wards. The other two 1 have never heard of since. 

WILLIAM STURGIS. 

Suffolk, ss. Boston, Feb 20th 1813. — Then William Stur- 
ges above named made solemn oath to the truth of the above de- 
claration, by him subscribed, before me. 

W. H. Sumner, J. Peace. 



[No. 42.] 
The Deposition of Capt. Isaac Hull. 

I Isaac Hull of Boston, Esquire, testify and say — That at the 
time when the British frigate Giierriere was taken by the United 
States frigate Constitution, tJien undey my command, the names 
of about twelve men were given me as Americans then on board 
the Guereiere, by Capt. Daeres. They informed me in general, 
that they had been impressed ; and as I understood them, from 
different American ships ; but as to this fact 1 did not enquire 
particularly. 

In addition to the above, many others said they were Ameri- 
cans, and six of them, as 1 have been informed, applied to the 
District Court for their release ; four of these six, 1 have under- 
stood, were accordingly released. 

One of the above twelve had been on board this ship, as he 
said, live years; and had frequently applied for a discharge. 
He belonged to some town fifty or sixty miles back in the coun- 
try, in Massachusetts, or Maine. At the time of the capture, 
Capt. Daeres, on my appSication, promised to give this man his 
pay ticket and prixe ticket, for his five years services; but 
afleroauls the seaman himself informed me that Capt. Daeres 
had refcsi'd it, af't.'i- his arrival in the United States. Capt* 
Daeres said t'lis man was an American, and said he was the best 
man in his sliip. I do not now recollect the man's name. At the 
time of the action this man stated t!\at he was an American, and 
for that reason did not fight : the '.thers. as ! understand, fought. 
It •requently happens that the Amerit'ans v^ho have once been on 
hoard British ships, and have left them, are afterwards recogni- 
zed by their officers aud claimed as belonging to their ships. 
One instance of this has come within my own knowledge 

One black man, who was on board tfie Guerriere, was aboxit 
quitting his gun, as being an American, and was ordered back 
and fought during the action. The first lieutenant of the Guer- 
riere told me, that he knew the man to be an Englishman, that 
he was born in Jamaica, and that he (the lieutenant) knew his 
master in that Isltmd : and that as soon as they arrived in Hal- 
ifajc he intended to have the man tried by a eourt-martial for 



65 

cowardice. I kept the man as a prisoner ; but he was upon our 
arriviil at Boston disi-harged, upon application to the District 
Court, as an American, belonging to the State of New-York. 

1 no not recollect tiiat any of the above men informed me that 
they hiui protections when they were impressed ; and the fact of 
their impressment 1 have from the men themselves ; except in the 
insta:ice oi' the man who served five years, as above stated ; in 
respect to him, Capt. Dacres told me that he Avas impressed. 
While 1 was in the Merchants' service, which was five or six 
years, I never had any men impressed from my ships by the Brit- 
ish or French. * ISAAC HULL. 
Suffolk, ss. Boston, Feb. 23d, 1813. 
Sworn to before me, 

James Savage, J. Peace. 



[No. 43.] 
Judge Davis's letter to the Committee. 

Boston, Feb. 22d, 1813. 

Sir, 

I received your letter of the 20th inst. written as chair- 
man of a Committee, of the honorable House of Representatives 
of Massachusetts, on the subject of impressed seamen, requesting 
information relative to applications made to me, as District 
Judge^by certain persons captured in the British frigate Guerriere. 

On the 6th of September last, application was made to me, in 
writing, by five men who were captured in the Guerriere, and held 
as prisouers of Avar, on board the prison ship Fawn, at Charles- 
town, praying for their discharge, as citizens of the United States. 
After some deliberation, I thought it my duty to sustain the peti- 
tion : a day for hearing was assigned, and notice ordered to the 
District Attorney, and to Andrew Allen, jr Esq British agent 
for prisoners, at that time, in Boston; and as the application was 
brief and imperfec t, I directed the applicants to file in the clerk's 
oifice, in seasonable time before the hearing, separate specifica- 
tions of facts, which should include a statement in what manner 
their alleged citizenship was acquired, and in what manner, and 
under what circumstances they became liable to capture 

Tlie names of the applicants were JVathaniel Snoic, John Ball, 
George Heed, Henry Brooks and Martin J\''aman. 

Afterwards, viz. — On the 9th of September, a similar applica- 
tion was made by another man, David Weston, who was also a 
prisoner of war, captured in the Guerriere. His petition was 
sufficiently descriptive of his his case, and a separate specifica- 
tion Avas not required of him. I enclose copies of the petitions, 
and of the specifications filed by three of the men, \'lz^—~Sno^v, 
Rud and jyamarif under the order on the first petitioa. 



m 

The hearing was on the 14th of September ; the result was, 
that it appeared to my satisfaction that JVathaniel SnoWy John 
Ball, Henry Brooks, Martin JVaman and David Weston were cit- 
izens of the United States, and I directed their discharge. I wa« 
not satisfied as to tlie alleged citizenship of George Reed, and he 
was of course remanded 

John Ball filed no specification of his case, but his account 
given on the examination was, that he was born in Loudon coun- 
ty, in Virginia, and was about forty years of age, that he served 
his time with Jldam Hiskell ; that he went to sea in 1797 ; that 
he enlisted in the British service, in England, as a marine, serv- 
ed for some time in that capacity at Chatham, and was 
afterwards put on board the Guerriere. 1 do not recollect wheth- 
er Henry Brooks gave any specification. If he did, it is mislaid. 
There was no evidence as to the impressment of any of these men, 
excepting their own declarations : but no proof appeared, that any 
of them, excepting John Ball, had voluntarily engaged in the 
British service. My enquiries were not directed particularly to 
the fact of impressment, for whether impressed, or not, if they 
were citizens of the Juited States, they were not liable to deten- 
tion, as prisoners of war. In regard to their citizenship, from 
the situation of these men, and the short notice for hearing, there 
could be but little evidence ; but on this head I was relieved by 
the frank deportment of Mr. Alleu, who attended the hearing, and 
who manifested a disposition to admit every allegation, though 
unaccompained with strict proof, which had the probable appear- 
ance of truth. He had conversed with the officers, lately belong- 
ing to the Guerriere, on the subject. Some of the applicants were 
expressly admitted to be citizens of the United States, nor was it 
denied as to any, who were discharged. 

I am. Sir, very respectfully, 

Your obedient servant, 

JOHN DAVJS 
John Pickering, Esq. Chairman of a 
Committee of the House of Representatives of 
Massachusetts, on the subject of Impressments. 

Griard Ship Fawn, > 
September, 6th, iSi2. $ 
To the Honourable Judge Davis. 

May it please your honor, we the subscribers, are American 
citizens,'now confined on board the guard ship Fawn, as prisoners 
of war. Wishing to fight < he battles of our country, aud not 
those of our em-my. We humbly request your interference for 
our release, and that we may be heard in our own behalf. 

NATHANIEL SNOW^ X his mark; witness, George Reed. 

JOl^N BALL. 

GFOUGE R^ED 

H-:NRY BROOKS, >< his mark; witness, Richard Skimmer. 

MARTIN NAMAN, X his mark ; witness,Richard Skimmer. 



67 

United states of America, > 
District of Massachusetts. 5 

To the honorable John Davis, Esq Judge of the District 
Court of the District of Massachusetts. 

Nathaniel Snow, commorant in Charlestown, within said Dis- 
trict, respeetfully represents, that he is a native American citizen, 
and was born in Philadelphia, in the District of Pennsylvania, 
and is aged thirty five years, that he sailed from Wiscasset, in 
the District of Maine, in the brig Dun, John Rich master, in 
April, A D. 1811, to Belfast, in Ireland, that he sailed in 
said brig thence bound to NeM -York, and on his return home- 
ward was impressed, and put oa board the British frigate Guer- 
riere on the 12th day of September, A. D 1811, and that he was 
captured in said frigate Guerriere, by the U. S. frigate Consti- 
tution, on the 20th day of August last past. 

his 
NATHANIEL x SNOW. 
Witness, 7 mark 

JL. M. Parker 



■I 



United States of America, > 
District of Massachusetts 3 

To the honorable John Davis, Esquire, Judge of the Dis- 
trict Court of the District of Massachusetts. 

George Reed commorant in Charlestown, within said District, 
respectfully represents, that he is a native American citizen, was 
born in Georgetown, in the District of Columbia, and is aged 
thirty nine years, that he sailed from Charleston in the Dis- 
trict of South Carolina in the ship Northern Liberties, James Bogg 
Master, about the 1st day of May, A. D. 1803 ; to Liverpool in 
England ; that he was impressed at Liverpool on the 3d day of 
July, A. D. 1803, that the leader of the press-gang took from him 
his protection, and put him on board the Princess guard ship, 
and was sent from her in a tender and put on board the sloop of 
war Nautilus at Plymouth, and has been transferred from ship to 
ship from time to time until he was put on board the Guerriere 
frigate from the Statira frigate at Halifax in December, A. D. 
1809, and that he was captured in said frigate Guerriere by the 
U. S. frigate Constitution on the 20th day of August last past. 

GEORGE REED. 



United States of America, 
District of Massachusetts. 

To the Honorable John Davis, Esquire, Judge of the Dis- 
trict Court of the District of Massachusetts 

Martin Naman commorant in Charlestown, witliin said District, 
respectfully represents, that he is a native American citize^i, was 
born in Lancaster in the District of Pennsylvania, and is as^ed thir- 
ty oue years, that he sailed in the schooner Orestes, John Maqr 



68 

master, from the city of New-York to the Island of St. Domingo, 
and thence to Gottenburg, and on the first day of December A D. 
1806, was there impressed and put on board the British gun brig 
the Gallant, was thence transferred to the frigate Guerriere on 
the 2*th day of December, A. D. 1807, and that he was captured 
in said frigate by the United States frigate Constitution on tlie 
20th day of August last past. 

his 
Witness, 1 MARTIN xNAMAN. 

L. M. Parker, j" rnarlc 

United States of America, > 
District of Massachusetts. ^ 

To the Honorable John Davis Esquire Judge of the Dis- 
trict Court of the District oi'Massachusettts. 

David Weston co amorant, in Charlestown, within said Dis- 
trict, respectfully represents, that he is a native American eiti-^en, 
was born in Baltimore in the District of Maryland, was sailing 
in an American ship and was captured in the Gulph Stream on 
the 14th day of June, A. D. 1808, by Captain Skeene of the Brit- 
ish frigate Guerriere, was taken on board the said frigate and 
therein detained by constraint until the 20th day of August last 
past, when he was recaptured by the United Stat'is frigate Con- 
stitution, and tliat he is now held as a British prisoner on board 
the "uard ship Fawn at Charlestown, aforesaid, whereupon he 
pravs that his case may be examined by your Honor and that he 
may be discharged. 

•^ DAViD WESTON, by his JUiorney, 

Charlestown, Sept. 9th, 1812. D. W. LINCOLN. 



[No. 44.] 
The Deposition of Lawson Carroll. 

I Lawson Carrol of Boston, carpenter, depose and say — that 
I was Carpenter on board the ship Juno, Capt. Elisha Crocker, 
at liiverpool, in June 1811 At which time Moses Wentworth, 
of the District of Maine, one of the crew, was taken up by the 
press °-ang, while on shore with me, — He had a protection from 
the Custoni House at Newburyport, which he had with him — He 
was carried on board the receiving ship, called the Princess, the 

next day. where he was kept till his deati — which took place 

about eight days after he v,'as taken up. — He was well, to appear- 
ance, when taken, and it was supjiosed that he died of »rief~— is 
we were informed, by a woman who saw hioi on board the Prin- 
cess, aud who brought to me his protection, that he refused 
to take any nourishment — Capt. Crocker was informed, as I un- 
derstood, that the regulating Captain had given orders for his re- 
lease — but he was not released. 



69 

On the passage home one man hy the name of William Man 
was impressed by a British sloop of war, he had lost his protec- 
tion, which heh.sd obtained by serving two years on board the 
Hornet. — He was an Irishman, and had a wife and children in 
Cheshire. 

LAW SON CARROL. 
BosroN, Feb. 23d, 1813. 
Sworn to before me, 

Lemuel Shaw, J. Peace. 



[N"o. 45.] 
The Deposition of Chari^s W. Williams. 

I Charles W. Williams of Wells, in the County of York, tra» 
der, depose and say — 1 know of the following cases oi impressed 
seamen, viz — 

Jotham M. Williams, was born in Boston, and was impressed 
by the British, about fourteen months ago ; being then mate of a 
ship from Philadelphia, bound to Europe. Documents have been 
sent on to London for his discharge ; but we have not heard of 
his release. 

Also, Samuel Williams, who was born in Boston, and sailed 
from thence, as a seaman, about four years ago, and was impress- 
ed at the Havanna. Documents for his release have been sent 
out to Londen. He attempted to escape and was detected, and 
received sivty lashes for the attempt, after having been half an 
hour in the water. He writes tliat he shall not make another 
attempt to escape. I think Samuel stated that he had not a pro- 
tection ; having lost it. 

The above are my brothers. Neither of the above have return- 
ed. Both the above had been impressed before. 

C. W. WILLIAMS. 
f^UFFOLK, ss Feb. 2Uh, 1813. 
Sworu to before me 

James Savage, J. Peace. 



[No. 46.] 
The Deposition of Lemuel Walker. 

1 Lemuel Walker, of Litchfield, in the county of Lincoln, yeo- 
man, depose and say — That I was born in Arundell, in the coun- 
ty of York ; that I know the follow ing cases of impressed sea- 
men, viz. — 

Jonathan Walker, my brother-in-law, and who was born ia A- 
10 



70 

rundell ; and was impressed from on board a vessel belonging tv 
Keiinebunk. While in the West-Indies was impressed on board 
of a British frigate ; he wrote home, soon after, his situation. 
About one year after I was in the Island of St. Christopher, the 
same frigate came into the Bay ; I went on board and enquired 
for my brother ; he came on deck, I asked him why he was de- 
tained there, he answered he could not tell ; but that he had oftea 
applied for his release, but could not obtain it. I then applied 
to the comsnandiagoHicer and informed him that this man was my 
brother and an American, and born in Arundell. He replied that 
when the frigate returned to England, he would be released. 
No application has since been made for his release. 

About fourteen years [since,] I commanded a vessel on a voyage 
from Kennebunk to St. Vincents. A press-gang from the sloop 
of war Nautilus, came on board my vessel while lying in Kings- 
ton, in St. Vincents ; the midshipman requested me to order my 
men upon deck ; I replied to him, that if he had more authority 
than I had, he might order them himself; the crew appeared on 
deck at his order. He took away four men from me, I then ap- 
plied to the Captain of the Nautilus to release my men ; which 
he refused to do, giving no reasons for detaining them. I then 
proceeded to the Governor of the Island, and acquainted him with 
the circumstances, and informed that I must be under the ne- 
cessity of entering my protest, and abandoning my vessel to the 
Colony, unless I could obtain my men. He told me that he 
would write to the Captain upon the subject, and that my men 
should be cleared : which he did and gave me the letter. After 
reading the letter he said he would comply with it so far as to 
deliver up three of them ; but that he would keep the other at all 
events. The man which he detained was named John Talpy, a 
a native of Old-York, in Maine. The sloop of war sailed next 
day — I did [not] hear any thing of Talpy for several years after- 
wards ; none of my men had protections at that time. The Cap- 
tain did not pretend that Talpy was an Englishman. 

LEMUEL WALKER. 
Suffolk, ss. Feb. 23rf, 1813. 
Sworn to before me, 

Lemuel Shaw, J. Peace. 



[No. 47.] 

The Deposition of Enoch Preble. 

.1 Enoch Preble of Portland, depose and say — that I have been 
master of a vessel about seventeen years I have never had any 
Bii^n impressed that were not delivered up on application ; and I 
always applied for all that I knew I0 be Americans. While 
1 was in London, in 1791, two of my men were impressed; 



74 

i»ne was a citizen of the United States ; the other was a negro, a 
native of Jamaica, but a citizen of the U. States. They were 
both released the next day after their impressment. 

In one instance a foreigner was taken from my vessel, in 1791. 
He was an Englishman that I shipped at Charleston, South Caro- 
lina. He was taken from me in the Downs ; but it was at my 
own instance, as he was a very troublesome fellow, and I was de- 
sirous of getting rid of him. 

I know of no persons that have ever belonged to Portland by the 
name of John Huddle, William Stoeker, Ralph Bryant, John Dy- 
er, or Thomas Flood. — John Holmes said to be of that place, has 
sailed with me on two voyages, and has told me that he M'as an 
Englishman, and that his true name was John Brown. When he 
sailed with me it was in the year 1799, or 1800, and I have not 
seen him since, to my recollection. 

ENOCH PREBLE. 
Suffolk^ ss. Feb. I9th, 1818. 
Sworn to before 

James Savage, J. Peace* 



[No. 4« ] 
The Deposition of Matthew Bridge. 

I Matthew Bridge of Charlestown, in the state of Massachu- 
setts, depose and say — that i have been engaged in commerce 
and navigation for five and twenty years, previous to the embar- 
go, and have usually employed, on an average'to the best of my 
recollection, twenty five seamen annually. 

1 recollect one instance of iniprtssment from a vessel owned 
by myself and Thos. K. Jones, in the year 1811. The young 
man was a native of Portsmouth, in New-Hampshire, and resid- 
ed in Boston, with his mother ; his name I do not recollect. He 
had a protection ; but notwithstanding, was taken by a British 
gun brig, on a voyage from Russia to London. Upon applica- 
tion of my son to the consul at London, he was discharged when 
the gun brig arrived tliere. My captain at the time told the Brit- 
ish officer, that the young man was a Bostonian, that he knew his 
family, &c. but it was without eflfect. 1 do not recollect any 
other instance from any of my vessels. 

1 know of one other instance from Charlestown, the case of 

Mr. Hunt, who was taken, as he informed me, about 

eight years ago, I think ; and made his escape, after being turn- 
ed from ship to ship, from Plymouth in England. He was under 
impressment, as he said, about six years. I made application at 
the Boston Custom-House, for documents, which were obtained, 
and which his father informed me, were sent out for his release. 



7« 

He had a protection, as I have no doubt. I recollect no other ca^ 
ses from Charlestown, or the vicinity. 

* MATTHEW BRIDGE. 

SurFOLK,ss. Feb. i9th, 1813. 
Sworn before 

Benjamin AVeld, J. Peace. 



[No. 49.] 
T/ie Deposition of John Hewes, alias Hughes. 

1 Jo!:n ilewes of New-London, in the State of Connecticut, mar- 
iner, depose and say — That in the year 1808, 1 entered as mate 
on board the ship William, of New-York, capt. John Stimpson, 
on a voyage to Calcutta. On the passage to Calcutta, I was 
impressed liy the frigate Alexander, and detained on board her 
three months, and was then put on board the Exeter, where I 
remained about six months — i was then put on board the Hiber- 
nia, M'here 1 remained eleven months — I was then put on board 
the fri:^ate Java at Portsmouth, England. When I was impres- 
sed • had an \merican protection, issued by the collector, Gen. 
Lincoln, at Boston. 1 was Boatswain's mate of the Java, when 
she was captured by the Constitution. 

When the Constitution shew American colours, T declared my- 
self an American and would not fight ; I was then put below du- 
riiifc' the action. 1 was received on board the Constitution as an 
American prisoner of war, and returned to Boston in her. 

his 
Attest, Wm. Sturgis. JOHN >< HEWES. 

■Suffolk, ss Boston, Feb. 20th, 1813. 
Sworn to before me, 

James Savage J. Peace. 



[No. 50.] 
Letter of Commodore Bainbridge. 

U. S. Frigate, Constitution, > 
Boston Harbor, Feb 2ist, 1813. ^ 

In answer to your coinmunication, by order of the commit- 
tee, relative to the deposition of John Hughes, I have to state, 
that he was received on board the frigate Constitution, as one of 
the crew of the ship William of Portland ; and that there is no 
doubt in my ujind, that he was actually one of the crew of the 



73 

»aid ship AVilliam ; on making particular enquiry to day on 
board my ship, I learn for the first time, that I had two more 
men of the Java's crew, than I stated ,yesterday before the com- 
mittee, which error was occasioned by a young lad, (m ho has left 
the Constitution) by the name of Suiith, passing himself as one 
of the William's crew, when by evidence obtained to day I first 
learnt he did belong to the Java, but not now having an opportu- 
nity of examining him, I eennot inform whether he is an Ameri- 
can or British sailor. I have also learnt this day, and for the 
first time, that another man by the name of Martin Cane, was 
actually one of the Java's crew, received on board the Constitu- 
tion and confined as such ; but on the prisoners going on shore, 
declaring himself positively to be an American, the officers per- 
mitted him to remain on board of the Constitution (I w as then 
confined to my cott by my wounds) and always considered him 
until to day as one of the William's crew. The confession of 
Cane to day, proves him to be born in Ireland, and that he uever 
was in the United States until his present arrival. Tbis Martin 
Cane, and Freeman, (the black man of the Java's crew) both 
declare that Hughes did not belong to her. 

Having been called by authority before your committee, and 
there gave a deposition, which may not appear perfectly clear, 
without this explanation, is the only motive of my being so 
minute. 

Very respectfully, 

Your obedient servant, 

WM. BAINBRIDGE. 
John Pickering, Esq. 



[No. 51.] 
Hie Deposition of Barnabas Hedge^, Jr. 

I Barnabas Hedge, jr. of Plymouth, in the county of Plymouth, 
depose and say — that I have been concerned in Commerce and 
Navigation about twenty four years — and 1 have employed about 
sixty seamen annually, for fifteen years past, except the two last 
years — for which two years I have employed about twenty sea- 
men annually. 

I have never had any seaman impressed from any vessel in 
which I have been concerned, except in one instance — that was 
the case of Barnabas Otis, jr. mentioned in the deposition of 
AVm. Davis. — Nathaniel Kempton, who is stated in the return 

of impressed seamen, to have been impressed and discharged 

was, as he told me, in the British service — I did not understand 
from him that he was impressed ; but my impression was, and is, 
that he had entered. — Within the past year he agreed to go in a 
vessel of mine — but just before she sailed, he came to me and 



■5^4. 

begged to be released, as he was afraid to go to sea ; as he con- 
sidered himself belonging to the British service, having formerly 
entered. 

About five years since, Thomas Robbing, a native of Ply- 
mouth, was on board one of my vessels. While in port in England, 
he with an Englishman, who was of the crew, and who also had 
an American protection, run away from my vessel and entered 
aboard an English armed vessel, and has not returned since. 

I know of no other case of impressment from the town of Ply- 
mouth. 

B. HEDGE, JR. 
Suffolk, ss. Feb. 16th, 1813. 
Sworn to before 

Alex. Townsend, J". Peace. 



[No. 52.'] 

Extract of a letter from Silas Talbot, Esq. agent for 
impressed seamen, in the West Indies, to the secre- 
tary of state, dated Kingston, Jamaica, December 
12, 1797. 

"While I reflect, sir, with pleasure on the check that is 
put to impressing our seamen, and the total discharge of all 
that were formerly on board admiral Harvey's division to Wind- 
ward, yet I feel great anxiety for those impressed a long time 
since, and who are still detained on board ships of war, that 
compose admiral Parker's squadron on this station, more espe- 
cially, as there is not any appearance of probability of their be- 
ing released so long as admiral Parker has the command in 
these seas. If Sir Hyde should be ordered off from this station, 
and the command devolve upon admiral Bligh, I have reason to 
expect, that in such case, perfect justice would be done to our 
representations on the subject in question. 

" Nor is it less distressing when we contemplate the hard- 
ship, the cruel and inhuman manner our seamen are frequently 
treated by the French. Every little while, some of those of our 
unfortunate men are coming in, like straggling soldiers after 
a battle and defeat, some of whom, when taken, are stripped 
naked, drubbed, and then put into a small boat to make the 
shore or perish in the sea ; and some are retaken by British 
ships and brought in ; others make their escape by one mean 
or another ; but, in all cases, they are miserably poor, both in 
purse an appearance." 

(Signed) SILAS TALBOT. 



7S 

[No. 53.] 

Extracts from French Laws and Ordinances. 

See the TRANSiAfions^page 76. 

1. Fevrier^ 1650. 
^^ Faisons en outre defenses tres-expr esses, suivant nos lettres 
patentes du 7 Septembre, dernier et ordonnances du 8 Decenthr* 
aussi dernier, a tons capitaines de marine nos sujets, domicilies et 
nan domicilies en notre roy aume et pays de notre obeissance, de 
prendre commission d^aucuns rois, princes ou republiques etravgers 
ni arborer autre banniere que la notre pour f aire la guerre ; et con- 
tre les dits capitaines nos sujets, quHl leur soit couru sus par nos 
capitaines, gardes-cotes, et autres nos sujets ; voulant aussi que leurs 
proces leur soit fait et parfait comme pirates, jusqu' a sentence de- 
finitive inclusivement," 

5. Aout, 1676. 
" Le roi etant en son conseil, s^etantfait representer sa declara- 
tion du 20 Fevrier, 1667, et son edit du mois d^Aout 1669, par les- 
quels S. M. auroit enjoint a tons ses sujets etant au service des 
princes et etats etrangers, de se retirer dans son royaume dans les 

termes portes par lesdits edit et declaration, a peine de la vie ; 

et d'autant que S. M. estime qu'en modifiant ou commuant la 

peine de mort portee par lesdits edit et declaration, en celle des ga- 
leres perpetuelles,elle en tireroit une augmentation pour la chiounM 

de ses galeres ; S. M. etant en son conseil, en modifiant et 

chans^eant ladite peine de mort, a ordonne et ordonne qxCaujour de 

la publication du present arret tons les Frangois qui seront 

pris sur les vaisseaux etrangers qui seront juges appartenir aux 

ennemis de S. M. seront constitues prisonniers et lesdits Fran- 

gois condamnes aux galeres perpetuelles,^^ Sj^c. 

23. Juillet, 1704. 
" On n''aura aucun egard aux passeports accordes par les princ- 
es neutres, tant aux proprietaires qti'aux maitres des vaisseaux su- 
jets des etats ennemis de S. M sHls n'ont ete naturalises et n'^ont 
transfere leur domicile dans les etats des princes neutres, avant la 
declaration de la presente guerre ; auquel cas meme ilsnepourront 
jouir de Peffet des lettres de naturalite, si depids qivelles ont ete ob- 
tenues ils sont retournes dans lesdits etats ennemis de S. JI pour 
y continuer leur commerce.''^ 

31 Octobre, 1784-. 
*' Le» gens de mer classes qui, en temps de paix, auront ete trouvi 
servant sur des navires etrangers sans permission seront condamn- 
es a quinze jours de prisons, reduits a la plus basse paye, et servir- 
ont extraordinairement pendant detix ans a la moitie de la dife 
basse paye ; et ceux qui, en temps de guerre seront arretees sur des 



76 

navires etrangers ou passant en pays etranger seront condamnes « 
trois ans de galeresy 

'' Lbs chefi des classes et les covimissaires feront faire la recher- 
che des deserteurs des navires marchands les feront arreter, et 

les remettront au.x ojjiciers des amirautes ; Us leur denonceront 
pareillement ceu,v des gens classes qui auront passe en pays etrang- 
er, et qui auront pu etre arretes^^ 8^c. 

8. Frimaire^ an 5. 
" Tl est enjoint, dans le mois qui suivra la publication du present 
arrH?^ a tons cnpitaines de vaisseaiLv neutralises^ dejustifier, par 
Vattache du ministre de leur nation aupres du gouvernement Fran- 
QoiSn quHIs sont n^'s, ainsi que les proprietaires des vaisseaiur quHls 
commandent^ si ces vaisseaux ne leur appartiennent pas a eux-me- 
mes, dans un pays allie ou neutre de la Republique Frangoise, sous 
peine d''etre prives de Ventree des ports Frangois et d''etre traites 
comme espions.^^ Sfc. 

8. Ventose, an 6, 
'' Tous les matelots Anglois qui se trouveront stir bdtimens neu- 
tres dans les ports de la Republique seront mis en etat d''arrestation, 
tt deteuus jusqxi' a ce qu'il en soit autrement ordonne. Seront, d 
cet egard. reputes Jlnglois tous matelots parlant la langue Angloise, 
et ne seront exceptes que ceucc qui prouveront par pieces auihenti- 
ques quHls sont Americains.^^ 

8 Brumaire, an 7* 
" Tout individu natif 07i originaire des pays amis allies de la 
Republique Francoise^ ou neutres^ porteur d^une commission donnee 
par les ennemis de la France, ou faisant partie des equipages des • 
batimens de s^uerre, et autres, ennemis, sera par ce seulfait declare 
pirate et traite comme tel,''^ Sfc, 

Translations of the foregoing French Ordinances. 

FEBRUARY 1, 1650. 

" We likewise, aj^reeably to our letters patent of the 7th 
September last, and our ordinances of the 8th December last, 
forbid in the strictest manner, all our captains, being our sub- 
jects, whether they have their domicils or not in our kinj^dom 
and the countries under our allegiance, from taking commis- 
sions of any foreign kings, princes, or republicks, and from us- 
sing any other flag than ours in war ; and we order that said cap- 
tains, being our siibjects, shall be seized by our captains, our 
guard-coasts, and all other our subjects, and that proceedings 
shall be bad against them as pirates, unto final judgment, inclu- 
sively." 



AUGUST 5, 1676. 

" The king, in council, having seen his declaration of the 
20th February, 1667, and his edict of the month of August, 
1669, whereby his Majesty had required ail his subjects who 
were in the service of foreign princes and states, to return to 
his kingdom, according to the tenor of the said edict and dec- 
laration, upon forfeiture of their lives — and whereas his Majes- 
ty is of opinion, that, by modifying or commuting the punish- 
ment of death, wliich is inflicted by said edict and declaration, 
for that of service during life in the gallies, he would be enabled to 
increase the crews of his gallies — His Majesty, in council, having 
modified and changed the said punishment of death, has ordained, 
and ordains, that from the day of the publication of this pres- 
ent decree .... all Frenchmen, who shall be taken in foreign 
vessels, that shall be adjudged to belong to the enemies of his 
Majesty, shall be held as prisoners .... and the said French- 
men shall be condemned to the gallies for life," 8cc. 

JULY 23, 1704. 

« No regard shall be had to passports granted by neutral 
princes, either to the owners or masters of vessels belonging 
to states at enmity with his Majesty, if they have not been natur- 
alized, and had not transferred their domicil to the states of 
the neutral princes before the declaration of the present 
war ; and even in this case, they shall not enjoy the benefit of 
their letters of naturalization, if, after obtaining them, they shall 
have returned to the said states at enmity with his Majesty in 
order there to continue their commercial affairs." 

OCTOBER 31, 1784. 

" The classed seamen, who in time of peace shall he found 
serving in foreign ships, without permission, shall be condemn- 
ed to fifteen days' imprisonment, and rated at the lowest wages, 
and shall serve moreover for two years for the half of such low- 
est wages ; and those who in time of war shall be taken in for- 
eign ships, or going into foreign countries, shall be condemned 
to three years' service in the gallies. 

" The heads of the classes and the commissaries shall cause 
search to be made for deserters from merchant ships .... shall 
cause them to be arrested, and send them to the officers of the 
admiralty ; they shall in like manner give information of such 
of the classed seamen as shall have passed into foreign coun- 
tries, and who may be arrested," Sec. 



n 



78 

FRIMAIRE 3, AN 5. [a. D. 1797.] 

"In one month from the publication of the present decree, 
all captains of neutral vessels are required to prove, by the cer- 
tificate of the minister of their nation residing with the French 
Government, that they, as well as the owners of the vessels 
which they command, (if the vessels do not bf^long to them- 
selves) were born in a country, either in alliance with the French 
republick, or neutral ; under the penalty of being deprived of 
an entry in Fi-ench ports, and treated as spies." 

VENTOSE 8, AN 6. [a. d. 1799.] 

" All English sailors who shall be found on board neutral 
vessels in the ports of the republick, shall be put under arrest, 
and detained until further orders — and all sailors who speak the 
English language, shall in this respect, be reputed Englishmen, 
and none shall be exempted but such as shall prove by authen- 
tick documents, that they are Americans." 

BRUMAIRE 8, AN 7. [a. D. 1799.] 

" Every individual, being a native, or originating in coun- 
tries in amity with, or allies of the French republick, or neu- 
trals, who shall hold a commission granted by the enemies of 
France, or shall make part of the crews of vessels of war, and 
others, being enemies, shall, for that alone, be declared a pirate, 
and treated as such." 



[No. 54^.] 

Extracts of a letter from Messrs. Monroe and Pink- 
ney, to the Secretary of state , dated Sejit. 11, 1806. 

" In the course of this conference, lord Auckland renewed 
a proposal, which he had glanced at in our first interview, that 
the treaty of 1794, should be made the basis of the present ne- 
gotiation." 



" On the impressment subject, it was soon apparent that they 
[the British ministers] felt the strongest repugnance to a for- 
mal renunciation or abandonment of their claim, to take from 
our vessels on the high seas, such seamen as should appear to 
be their own subjects : and they pressed upon us, with much 
zeal, as a substitute for such an abandonment, a provision that the 
persons composing the crews of our ships should be furnished 



79 

with authentick documents of citizenship, the nature and form, 
of which should be settled by treaty ; that these documents 
should completely protect those to whom they related ; but, that 
subject to such pivjtections, the ships of war of Great Britain 
should continue to visit and impress on the main ocean as here- 
tofore." 



[No. 55.] 

Extract from Mpssrs. Monroe and Pinkney^s leU 
terto the Secretary of state, Sej^ii, 1806, at Lon- 
don. ^ 

" The temper which the British commissioners have obvi- 
ously brought to the negotiation corresponding with that which 
has been manifested towards the mission by those who hold of- 
ficial stations ht-re, as well as by the publick in general, is as 
friendly and respectful to our government and country as could 
be desired." 



[No. 56.] 

Agreement of the British Commissioners respecting 
Impressments. 

Holland House, Nov. 8, 1806. 

His majesty's commissioners and plenipotentiaries, have 
the honour to represent to the commissioners and plenipoten- 
tiaries of the United States ; 

That the project of an article on the subject of impressing 
seamen, together with the reasonings, by which the commis- 
sioners of the United States have urged the expediency of an 
arrangement on that subject, has been laid before his majesty's 
government, and has been considered with the same friendly 
and conciliatory disposition, which has marked every step of 
the negotiation. 

That his majesty's government has not felt itself prepared to 
disclaim, or derogate from, a right which has ever been uni- 
formly and generally maintained, and in the exercise of whic!), 
the security of the British navy may be essentially involved; 
more especially in a conjuncture when his majesty is engaged 
in wars, which enforce the necessity of the most vigilant atten- 
tion to the preservation and supply of the naval force of his 
kingdom. 



80 

That his majesty's government, animated by an earnest de- 
sire to remove every cause of dissatisfiiction, has directed his 
majesty's commissioners to give to Mr. Munroe and to Mr. 
Pinkney, the most positive assurances that instructions have 
been given and shall be repeated and enforced, for tiie observ- 
ance of the greatest caution in the impressing of British sea- 
men ; and that the strictest care shall be taken to preserve the 
citizens of the United States from any molestation, or injury; 
and that immediate and prompt redress shall be aftbrded upon 
any representation of injury sustained by them. 

That the commissioners of the United States well know that 
no recent causes of complaint have occurred, and that no prob- 
able inconvenience can result from the postponement of an arti- 
cle subject to so many difFicul'.ies. Still, tliat his m jesty's com- 
missioners arc instructed to entertain the discussion of any plan 
that can be devised to secure the interests of both states, with- 
out any injury to rights to which they are respectively attached. 

That in the mean time the desire of promoting a right con- 
clusion of the proposed treaty, and of drawing closer the ties of 
connexion between the two countries, induces his majesty's com- 
missioners to express their readiness to proceed to the comple- 
tion of the other articles, in the confident hope, that the result 
cannot fail, to cultivate and confirm the good understanding hap- 
pily subsisting between the high contracting parties, and slili 
fuither to augment the mutual prosperity of his majesty's sub- 
jects, and of the citizens of the United States. 

(Signed) VASSAL HOLLAND. 
AUCKLAND. 

To James Monroe Esq. and V/illiam Pinckxey Esq. 



[No. .57.] 

Exiract of a letter, dated London, J\*ov, 11, iSOQ, from 
tMessrs. J\lonroe and Finckney to James Madison, 
Secretarij of state, 

" Ox the 9th instant, we received from the British commis- 
sioners the note which they had promised us in the last interview, 
which we have found to correspond in all respects with what we 
had been taught to expect. We have also weighed with due 
consideration the great question which is propounded by it, and 
arc decidedly of opinion that it is our duty to proceed to the 
other objects of the negotiation, leaving that of impressment on 
the ground on which it will be placed by this note and our act- 
ing on it. Many strong reasons favour this course, while none 



81 

occur to us of any wei^lit against it. When we take into view 
all thai has passed on this subject, we are far from considering- 
the note of the British commissioners as a mere circumstance 
of form. We persuade ourselves that by accepting the invita- 
tion which it gives, and proceeding in the negotiation, we shall 
place the business almost, if not altogether, on as good a footing, 
as we should Jiave done by treaty, had the project which we of- 
fered them been adopted. The time at tvhich this note was 
presented to us, and the circuiustar.ces under which it was pre- 
sented, being when tlie negotiuiion was absolutely at a stand on 
this very question, and we had informed the British commis- 
sioners that we could do nothing, if it was not provided for, give 
the act a peculiar degree of solemnity and obligation. It was 
sent to us as a publick paper, and intended that we should so 
consider it, and with the knowledge and approbation of tne cab- 
inet. It ought therefore, to be held as obligatory on the gov- 
ernment, in its just import, as if the substance had been 
stipulated in a treaty. It is just also to give it a liberal con- 
struction in favour of the United States, in consideration that it 
is the act of the British government. In that view it merits at- 
tention, that every thing is expressed in it that could be desir- 
ed, except the relinquishment of the principle : that in speak- 
ing of impressments, the exercise of that act on the high seas is 
not mentioned, an omission which we knovvf to have been inten- 
tional. From a full view of all these circumstances we think it 
fair to inff r, that this government intends to conform its con- 
duct in future to the just claims of the United States, on this 
great interest, while by particular motives of policy, it deems it 
improper to relinquish a claim, especially at this time, which has 
been long sustained and acted on by it, and vv^hich has been 
heretofore strongly supported by the national feeling, or more 
properly speaking, prejudice." 



[No. ;'78.] 

Extracts of a letter from Mr. Monroe to Mr. Madi- 
son dated liicfnuond^ Feb. 28, 1808. 

" The impressment of seamen from our merchant vessels, 
is a topick which claims a primary atteation, from the order 
which it holds in your letter, but more especially, from some 
important considerations that are connected with it. The idea 
entertained by the publick is, that the rights of the United States 
were abandoned by the American commissioners in the late ne- 
gotiation, and that their seamen were left by tacit acquiescence,, 
if not by formal renunciation, to depend for their safety on the 
mercy of tiie British cruizers. I have on the contrary, always 



82 

believed, and slill do believe, that the ground on which that in- 
terest was placed by the paper of the British commissioners, of 
Nov. 8, 1306, and the explanations which accompanied it, was 
both honourable and advantageous to the United States; that it 
contained a concession in their favour, on the part of Great- 
Britain, on the great principle in contestation, never before 
made by a formal and obligatory act of the government, which 
was higiily favourable to their interest ; and that it also impo- 
sed on her the obligation to conform her practice under it, till 
a more complete arrangement should be concluded, to the just 
claims of the United States. 

" By this paper it is evident that the rights of the United 
Slates were expressly to be reserved, and not abandoned, as has 
been most erroneously supposed ; that the negotiation on the 
subject of impressment was to be postponed for a limited time, 
and for a special object only, and to be revived as soon as that 
object was accomplished ; and, in the interim, that the prac- 
tice of impressment was :o correspond essentially with the views 
and interests of the United States. 

" In calling your attention to the passage which treats of im- 
pressment, in reference to tlie practice which should be observ- 
ed in future, we remarked that the terms " high seas" were not 
mentioned in it, and added th.it wc knew that the omission had 
been intentional. It was impossilile that those terms could 
have been omitted intentionally wU/i our knowltdgc^ for any pur- 
pose other than to admit a construction that it was intended that 
impressments should be confined to land. 

'• I do not mean to imply that it was understood between the 
British commissioners and us, that Great-Britain should aban- 
don the practice of impressment on the high seas altogether. I 
mean, however, distinctly to state, that it was understood that 
the practice heretofore pursued by her should be abandoned, 
and that no impressment should be made on the high seas, un- 
der the obligation of that paper, except in cases of an extraor- 
dinary nature, to which no general prohibition against it could 
be construed fairly to extend. The cases to wdiich I allude 
■were described in our letter of November 1 1th. They suppose 
a British ship of war and a merchant vessel of the United States, 
lyitig in the Tagus oi some other port, the desertion of some of 
the sailors from the ship of war to the merchant vessel, and the 
sailing of the latter with such deserters on board, they being 
British subjects It was admitted that no general prohibition 
against impressment could be construed to sanction such cases 
of injustice anclHraud ; and to such cases it was understood 
that the practice should in future be confined. 

" That an informal understanding was an admissil)ie mode of 
arranging this interest with Great-Britain, is made sufficiently 
evident by your letter of Feb. 3, 1807, in reply to ours of Nov, 
1 1th, of the preceding year. 



83 

" We wei'e therefore, decidedly of opinion that the paper of 
the British commissioners placed the interest of impressment 
on ground which it was both safe and honourable for the United 
States to admit : that in short it gave their government the 
command of the subject for every necessary and useful purpose. 
Attached to the treaty it was the basis or condition, on which 
the treaty rested. Strong in its character in their favour on the 
great question of riglit, and admitting a favourable construc- 
tion on others, it placed them on more elevated ground in those 
respects than they had held before ; and by keeping the nego- 
tiation open to obtain a more complete adjustment, the admin- 
istration was armed with the most effectual means of securing it. 

" When I took into view the prosperous and happy condition of 
the United States, compared with that of other nations ; that as 
a neutral power, they were almost the exclusive cariiers of the 
productions of the whole world ; and that in commerce they 
flourished beyond example, notwithstanding the losses wiiich 
they occasionally suffered, I was strong in the opinion that those 
blessings ought not to be hazarded in such a question. Many 
other considerations tended to confirm me in thai sentiment. I 
knew that the United States were not prepared for war ; that 
their coast was unfortified, and their cities in a great measure 
defenceless ; that their militia, in many of the states, was nei- 
ther armed nor trained ; and that their whole revenue was de- 
rived from commerce. I could not presume that there was just 
cause to doubt which of the alternatives ought to be preferred." 



[No. 59.] 

Extract of a letter^ from Mr. Monroe, Secretary of 
state, to Mr. Foster, dated July 2S, 1811. 

" The President has received, v/ith great satisfaction, the 
communication, that should the orders in council of 1807, be 
revoked, the blockade of May of the preceding year, would 
cease with them, and that any blockade, which should be after- 
wai'ds instituted, should be duly notified and maintained by an 
adequate force. This frank and explicit declaration, worthy of 
the prompt and amicable measure adopted by the Prince Re- 
gent, in coming into power, seems to remove a material obsta- 
cle to an accoumiodation of differences between our countries ; 
and when followed by the revocation of the orders in council will, 
as I am authorized to inform you, produce an immediate termina- 
tion of tlie non-importation law, by an exercise of the power 
vested in the president for that purpose." 



84 
[No. 60.] 

Extract of a letter from Mr. Foster to Mr. Monroe^ 
dated June i, 1812. 

" I HAVE it in charge to repeat to you, sir, for the informa- 
tion of your government, that the government of his Royal 
Highness the Prince Regent will continue to give the most pos- 
itive orders against the detention of America7i citizens on board 
his Majesty's ships ; and that no difficulties, beyond what arc 
requisite for clearly ascertaining the national character of indi- 
viduals, whose cases are brought before the lords commission- 
ers of the admiralty, will be interposed, to prevent or delay their 
immediate discharge." 



Note. 

After the Documents were put to press, the depositions of 
Col. John Thomas and Thos. H. Tobey, Esq's. (Nos. 25 and 39) 
being found to be without the certificates of the magistrate, 
measures were immediately taken to obtain them ; but they 
could not be had in season to be annexed. 

To the list of witnesses mentioned on the last page of the re- 
port as having been summo7ied, should be added the names of 
John Doak, and Jeremiah Lee^ who could not be found by the 
officer. 

JNO. PICKERING, 
Chairman of the Coinniittee. 



ERRATUM. 

Pa^'e 9, in the Report, line IT, for formed read found. 



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